Missouri Trade Secrets Case Transferred to Georgia as Exception to First-Filed Rule
The Eastern District of Missouri transferred a case involving trade secret misappropriation and breach of a Missouri noncompete agreement in Buckeye Int'l, Inc. v. Unisource Worldwide, Inc., 2007 WL 4178615 (E.D. Mo. 11/19/07).
The dispute centered around Craig Sasso. Sasso was a salesman and then manager for Buckeye International's facility in Georgia. He signed a noncompete agreement that was limited to his sales area. Unisource Worldwide hired Sasso, and he began selling products in Georgia. Buckeye filed this suit in Missouri. Unisource filed suit in Georgia and moved to transfer the Missouri case to Georgia.
The court transferred the case to Georgia because the witnesses and documents regarding this dispute are located in Georgia. Additionally, the dispute at issue is Sasso's contact of customers in Georgia. Although these are not the typical red flags stated by the Eighth Circuit, the court felt these were compelling circumstances to supersede the first-filed rule.
