On May 27, 2026, Patterson Belknap secured a significant victory on behalf of its client, Drink Recess, Inc. ("Recess"). The dispute involves allegations of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract claims against Recess and three Recess employees (including its co-CEO), each of whom had previously worked at plaintiffs’ company. Plaintiffs alleged that the individual employees had breached their non-competes by accepting employment at Recess and that prior to their departures these employees had taken numerous documents containing trade secrets and other confidential information. Plaintiffs also alleged that Recess tortiously interfered with the individual defendants’ contracts, knowingly participated in the individual defendants’ breaches of fiduciary duty, and engaged in trade secret misappropriation.

In March 2026, Plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, wherein Plaintiffs sought an order restricting each of the employees’ work at Recess and requiring the employees to return any trade secrets. The Court held oral argument on April 15, 2026.

Last week, on May 27, Judge Ellison of the United States District Court for Southern District of Texas denied plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in full. The Court ordered that the employees would not be prohibited from working at Recess and that the employees’ proffered stipulations, as well as the remediation already undertaken by Recess, “rendered any additional injunctive relief unnecessary.”

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