The Texas Uniform Trade Secret Act (TUTSA) displaces conflicting tort, restitutionary, and other law of this state providing civil remedies for misappropriation of a trade secret. In Super Starr International, LLC v. Fresh Tex Produce, LLC, 531 S.W.3d 829 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi July 20, 2017, no pet.), the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals offered perhaps the first interpretation of the section. In Super Star International, plaintiff sued defendants for both misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty. The breach of fiduciary duty claim was based on the same allegations as the TUTSA claim—i.e., that defendants diverted accounts and business and solicited accounts and employees using plaintiff’s trade secrets. According to the court, this type of duplicative claim was the exact type of claim that TUTSA was designed to displace.

It should be noted that the court’s analysis was limited to the facts of this case where plaintiff’s alleged breach of fiduciary duty involved the use of trade secrets. It may be possible to assert both claims in other cases—so long as the breach of fiduciary duty does not involve the disclosure or use of trade secrets.