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Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC v. Cody Downing — 8th Cir. (Sep 24, 2026)

No. 25-2865 Argued September 24, 2026 Published September 26, 2026

A seed-company dispute reaches the Eighth Circuit after a jury's trade-secret verdict. Cody Downing left Wilbur-Ellis for competitor J.R. Simplot in 2021. Wilbur-Ellis accused him of misusing confidential customer and pricing information. Downing disputes that the company proved a protectable secret or losses caused by him. A jury found for Wilbur-Ellis on its trade-secret claims, and the district judge awarded attorney's fees. Downing appealed. The judges will ask which objections survived the trial, whether the claimed losses can be traced to him, and whether the fee award can stand.

Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC v. Cody Downing (No. 25-2865) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, argued September 24, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://media-oa.ca8.uscourts.gov/OAaudio/2026/9/252865.mp3
Argument listing and date — Eighth Circuit:https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/sessions.pl?yymm=202609&getOA=Select
Eighth Circuit appellate docket and counsel:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca8/25-2865
Background and jury verdict:https://exlitem.com/jury-verdicts-settlements/wilbur-ellis-wins-132k-in-trade-secrets-suit-against-ex-employee
Wilbur-Ellis v. Gompert — Eighth Circuit opinion:https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/07/251577P.pdf
Dupree v. Younger — Supreme Court opinion:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22-210_7mi8.pdf
Dewberry Group v. Dewberry Engineers — Supreme Court opinion:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-900_19m1.pdf
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure — U.S. Courts:https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure
Defend Trade Secrets Act remedies, 18 U.S.C. § 1836:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1836&num=0&edition=prelim
Zachary Busey — Baker Donelson:https://www.bakerdonelson.com/zachary-b-busey
Jeremy Sosna — Littler:https://www.littler.com/people/jeremy-sosna

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