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L-3 Communs. Corp. v. Jaxon Eng'g & Maint., Inc.

L-3 Communs. Corp. v. Jaxon Eng'g & Maint., Inc.

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

September 1, 2015, Decided; September 1, 2015, Filed

Civil Action No. 10-cv-02868-MSK-KMT

Opinion

 [*1159]  OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND OTHER MOTIONS

THIS MATTER comes before the Court pursuant to the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (# 1175, 1185), the Plaintiffs' response (# 1246, 1265), and the Defendants' reply (# 1294, 1295, 1298); the Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (# 1176, 1186), the Defendants' response (# 1252, 1260, 1261), and the Plaintiffs' reply (# 1292) the Plaintiffs' Motion to Dismiss the Civil Theft Claim (# 1196), the Defendants' response (# 1199), and the Plaintiffs' reply (# 1200); the Defendants' Motion for [**3]  Summary Judgment (# 1223, 1219), the Plaintiffs' response (# 1234), and the Defendants' reply (# 1284, 1296); and the Defendants' Renewed Motion to Stay (# 1227) consideration of the Plaintiffs' patent infringement claims, the Plaintiffs' response (# 1245), and the Defendants' reply (# 1286, 1297). Also pending are a wealth of motions by both parties seeking to restrict public access to various filings (# 1197, 1201, 1203, 1213, 1218, 1222, 1225, 1226, 1229, 1230, 1231, 1263, 1268, 1269, 1280, 1281, 1282, 1300, 1301, 1302, 1303, 1304, 1305), all of which are unopposed.

FACTS

Given the breadth of motions at issue here, the Court dispenses with a general factual or procedural summary, deferring factual development to the appropriate portion of the analysis. It is sufficient to note here that the Plaintiffs (collectively, "L-3") are engaged in the business of performing high-altitude electromagnetic pulse ("HEMP") testing of electronics, particularly for military applications, along with designing and manufacturing HEMP testing equipment. Most of the individual Defendants were employees of L-3 until approximately 2008, at which time they left L-3 and formed Defendant Jaxon Engineering and [**4]  Maintenance, Inc. ("Jaxon"), a company that competes with L-3 in HEMP testing. Among its claims, L-3 alleges that the individual Defendants misappropriated L-3 trade secrets when they left L-3 employment and that Jaxon is infringing upon L-3's patents. The Defendants have filed counterclaims against L-3, although those counterclaims are not at issue here.

ANALYSIS

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125 F. Supp. 3d 1155 *; 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116237 **

L-3 COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION; and L-3 SERVICES, INC., Plaintiffs, v. JAXON ENGINEERING & MAINTENANCE, INC.; JONI ANN WHITE; RANDALL K. WHITE; SUSAN RETTIG; CHARLES RETTIG; JAMES YOUNGMAN; JERRY LUBELL; KELLY RICE; and JOHN MCCLURE, Defendants.

Prior History: L-3 Communs. Corp. v. Jaxon Eng'g & Maint., Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31082 (D. Colo., Mar. 12, 2015)

CORE TERMS

documents, Confidentiality, redacted, summary judgment motion, contracts, Patent, trade secret, summary judgment, capacitor, motions, movant, parties, discovery, exhibits, invention, Lanham Act, employees, proprietary information, former employee, restrict access, customer, unjust enrichment, Orders, breached, bidding, damages, terms, conversion claim, contractor, questions

Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Entitlement as Matter of Law, Genuine Disputes, Legal Entitlement, Materiality of Facts, Need for Trial, Appropriateness, Burdens of Proof, Movant Persuasion & Proof, Nonmovant Persuasion & Proof, Absence of Essential Element, Motions for Summary Judgment, Cross Motions, General Overview, Business & Corporate Compliance, Contract Formation, Offers, Definite Terms, Contracts Law, Types of Contracts, Contracts Implied in Fact, Labor & Employment Law, Conditions & Terms, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition, Noncompetition & Nondisclosure Agreements, Discovery & Disclosure, Disclosure, Mandatory Disclosures, Federal Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising, Elements of False Advertising, Pleadings, Amendment of Pleadings, Leave of Court, Quasi Contracts, Contracts Law, Remedies, Equitable Relief, Quantum Meruit, Torts, Damages, Types of Damages, Compensatory Damages, Patent Law, Ownership, Federal Government Inventions, Public Contracts Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Patents, Dispute Resolution, Contract Disputes Act, Bids & Formation, Authority of Government Officers, Contracting Officers, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Supplemental Jurisdiction, Pendent Claims, Jurisdiction, Diversity Jurisdiction, Trade Secrets Law, Misappropriation Actions, Elements of Misappropriation, Acquisition, Existence & Ownership, Improper Means, Disclosures, Customers of Former Employer, Employee Duties & Obligations, Right to Compete, Employment Relationships, Fiduciary Responsibilities, Governments, Courts, Court Records