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Cooper Tire Ordered to Give Utah Plaintiffs Access to Records it Deems Trade Secrets

By Todd

The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that plaintiffs in a roll-over case received an order from U.S. Magistrate Paul Warner - and affirmed by U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell - for wide access to documents held by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

It was an order that Cooper Tire, in court filings, calls "breathtaking."

In his discovery ruling, Warner said the families' theory in the case - that the tire failed because of systemic design and manufacturing failures - is a wide one. "Plaintiffs . . . should be permitted to engage in discovery that has a similarly broad focus," Warner wrote. Whether any of the information will be shared with a jury will be decided later, he said.

Cooper argued that the plaintiffs should only be able to learn information about tires similar to the one that failed and that were manufactured in the same time frame. Otherwise, it could be forced to reveal trade secrets, the company argued.

We'll keep an eye on this one for you.

Full post as published by Womble Trade Secrets Blog on January 29, 2008 (boomark / email).