Quintara Biosciences, Inc. v. Ruifeng Biztech Inc.

Background

Quintara Biosciences, Inc. brought an acrimonious dispute against former business partners, including Ruifeng Biztech Inc. The defendants moved for summary judgment and terminating sanctions.

Summary judgment is a ruling entered without a trial when there is no genuine dispute about a material fact. A material fact is one that could affect the outcome, and a genuine dispute exists when the evidence could allow a reasonable jury to decide for the party opposing the motion.

The defendants relied on documents that Quintara had provided under an earlier order requiring Quintara to describe the trade-secret information that might be found on computers in defendants’ possession. Quintara responded with a declaration from Dr. Zhao and a revised list of documents that it said comprised database trade secrets.

Court’s Analysis

At the summary-judgment hearing, defense counsel initially stated that defendants’ forensic expert had found no relevant documents from Quintara’s list on defendants’ computers, except for a file called “process_orders.xlsx.” Counsel said that file had not been modified since January 27, 2020, before the lockout and dispute. As the argument continued, however, defense counsel admitted that defendants had last accessed the document on January 23, 2021, more than six months after the dispute arose.

Quintara also identified another document, “Dec-Feb 2020 Customer list.xlsx,” that appeared in both Quintara’s and defendants’ files. After reviewing the contents of these two documents during the hearing, the court found some evidence suggesting misappropriation of Quintara’s alleged trade secrets. The court concluded that material factual disputes remained.

Disposition

The court denied defendants’ motions for summary judgment and for terminating sanctions. The opinion does not state whether the court set a trial date or otherwise describe the case’s next step.