Insights on Trade Secrets, Noncompetes & Employee Mobility

Chicago Partner Matt Prewitt will serve as a moderator at the IP Strategy Summit: New York, hosted by CenterForce, on November 19 in New York.

In Adem Arslani v. Microsoft Corporation, et al., the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted motions to dismiss a pro se plaintiff’s Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) claim as untimely, holding that the plaintiff’s own allegations showed that he knew of the alleged misappropriation of his health care consulting methodologies in late 2021, more than three years before he filed suit.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in UEC Holdings, Inc. v. Hatcher vacated a preliminary injunction that had required a competitor to stop working on a contract with one of the plaintiffs’ key customers.

ArentFox Schiff Partner Lauren Schaefer will speak at Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) Noncompetes and Restrictive Covenants: What Every Lawyer, Human Resources Professional, and Key Strategic Decisionmaker Should Know program on October 1, 2026.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction against non-signatory third parties who helped a former business owner violate his noncompete agreement and build a direct competitor using the plaintiff’s confidential information, employees, and customer relationships.

In Silver Fern Chemical, Inc. v. Lyons et al., No. 2:23-cv-00775-TL (W.D. Wash. Aug. 25, 2026), the US District Court for the Western District of Washington denied the defendants’ renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and motion for a new trial following a jury verdict awarding $1,916,137 in damages for trade secret misappropriation under both the Washington Uniform Trade Secrets Act (WUTSA) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA).

In Sala v. Premier Imaging Holdings, LLC, 240 Conn. App. 793, 2026 WL 2220267 (Conn. App. Aug. 4, 2026), the Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision to overturn an arbitration award that had declared a physician noncompete “valid and binding,” because the arbitration award enforced a restrictive covenant that exceeded the one-year and 15-mile limits for physician noncompetes allowed under CT Gen Stat § 20-14p.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 125 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2027, with two attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 36 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”

In a non-precedential opinion in Christopher M. Warman v. Local Yokels Fudge, LLC, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment, upholding the denial of the defendants’ renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on the trade secret claims under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act (PUTSA).

In Wilbur-Ellis Company v. Gompert, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for defendants, four former employees of plaintiff, who brought claims against them under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Nebraska Trade Secrets Act (NTSA). The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision holding that the plaintiff employer had failed to identify its alleged secrets with specificity and had failed to connect circumstantial evidence to any particular trade secret or improper use.

On July 14, the Ninth Circuit vacated a $40 million jury verdict against XP Power, LLC in a closely watched trade secret misappropriation case brought by Comet Technologies USA, Inc. and its affiliates under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and, at least initially, the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA).

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that Partner Linda Jackson, co-leader of the Complex Litigation and Trade Secrets, Noncompetes & Employee Mobility practices, has been elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 23 practices and 81 attorneys have been recognized by The Legal 500 United States 2026 guide.

The Federal Circuit held that the district court erred by precluding plaintiffs from pursuing unjust enrichment damages for trade secret misappropriation claims.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 68 attorneys were recognized as leaders in their field and 25 practices spanning the firm’s litigation, regulatory, and transactional capabilities, as well as key industries, were ranked among the best in the country in the 2026 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

In a 2-1 decision authored by Judge Timothy B. Dyk, the Federal Circuit reversed a jury verdict awarding Insulet Corporation over $59 million in compensatory and exemplary damages for trade secret misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA).

Chicago Partner Matt Prewitt will serve as a panelist at the Trade Secret Strategy Summit: New York, hosted by CenterForce, on June 3, 2026, in New York.

Tennessee is the latest jurisdiction to enact legislation restricting and defining the permissible use of noncompete agreements.

Virginia is the latest jurisdiction to enact legislation broadening restrictions on the use of noncompete agreements.

ArentFox Schiff’s Trade Secrets, Noncompetes & Employee Mobility Team authored two chapters in the Trade Secrets 2026 guide, published by Chambers and Partners as part of their Chambers Global Practice Guides series.

Washington has joined the growing list of states that ban almost all employee noncompete agreements.

In a significant decision, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of Payscale, Inc.’s breach of contract claims arising from Erin Norman’s alleged violations of the noncompete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality provisions contained in the incentive equity agreement that she signed as an employee.

Chicago Partner Matthew Prewitt will participate in the 8th Annual Trade Secrets, Noncompetes, and Other Competitive Restrictions — Hot Topics and Latest Developments program on April 7 in Chicago.

When confronted with defense arguments that the alleged misappropriation should have been discovered sooner with reasonable diligence and as such the claims were time-barred, the Eastern District of Virginia holds that the plaintiff, SkyBell, prevails due in part to contractual restrictions limiting Alarm.com’s permitted uses of licensed — and allegedly misappropriated — SkyBell technology; and that, without the benefit of hindsight the court can not conclude SkyBell was on notice.

As in 2025, the first few months of 2026 have seen fashion and retail companies operating in an environment where legal developments increasingly shape day-to-day business decisions, and the same is expected to continue throughout the rest of the year.