Kaibs Roving R.PH. Agency, Inc. v. Smith

Plaintiff appeals the trial courts judgment dismissing this action for misappropriation of trade secrets, ORS 646.461 to 646.475, breach of contract, breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and unfair competition. Focusing exclusively on the trade secrets claim, the trial court determined that the items of information that defendants allegedly misappropriated were not, in fact, trade secrets as that term is defined by law. On that basis alone, the court granted defendants motion for summary judgment as to all of plaintiffs claims. On appeal, plaintiff challenges that ruling and also asserts that the court abused its discretion in ruling on the summary judgment motion without first permitting plaintiff to complete discovery. We conclude that, because there are disputed issues of material fact, summary judgment was inappropriate. Accordingly, we reverse and remand.