Buchalter recently represented Ruifeng Biztech, Inc., in what may be a first-of-its kind ruling, on March 13, 2021, the Northern District of California granted Ruifeng Biztech’s motion to strike nine of Quintara Biosciences, Inc.’s alleged DNA sequencing trade secrets, leaving plaintiff with only its customer list and vendor list claims to support its allegations under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act.
On November 20, 2020, the Court granted Ruifeng’s motion for a protective order under California Code of Civil Procedure section 2019.210, which requires that a trade secret plaintiff set forth with “reasonable particularity” its alleged trade secrets. The Court’s November 18, 2020 order also commanded Quintara to set forth the specifics of each alleged trade secret, including how it met the Defend Trade Secrets Act’s definition of a “trade secret.” The court explained “The point is to nail down the asserted trade secrets with sufficient particularity to permit us to discern the reasonable bounds of discovery, to give defendants notice to mount a cogent defense, and to prevent plaintiff from indulging in shifting sands.”
When the plaintiff failed to comply with the Court’s November 20, 2020 order, Ruifeng successfully moved to strike and dismiss Quintara’s DNA sequencing trade secrets allegations.
The Buchalter team was led by Dylan Wiseman, Tiffany Ng, and Brandon Carr.
Additional Coverage
