Opinion
March 15, 1971
In an action for an injunction and damages based on allegations of unfair competition and theft of trade secrets, defendants other than Venus Scientific, Inc. appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County, dated October 29, 1970, which (1) granted plaintiff's motion to strike the answer of defendant Computer Energy Corporation, unless said defendant produces certain specified items for discovery, inspection and copying, and (2) denied the cross motion of the appealing defendants for leave to renew their motion for a protective order. Appeal by the appealing defendants other than Computer Energy Corporation from that part of the order which conditionally granted plaintiff's motion to strike the answer of defendant Computer Energy Corporation dismissed, without costs. Those appealing defendants are not aggrieved parties as to that part of the order (CPLR 5511). Order otherwise reversed, without costs; plaintiff's motion denied; cross motion for leave to renew motion for a protective order granted; and appealing defendants granted a protective order as specified hereinbelow. In our opinion, under the circumstances of this case, the appealing defendants were entitled to a conditional order barring plaintiff from taking and retaining copies of any of the documents in issue, particularly the winding instructions and drawings, design calculations and schematic diagrams, as well as the transistor procurement specifications relating to the TPN-19 Program at Raytheon Wayland Laboratories, prior to the time when production orders for any of these items are actually awarded, but granting to plaintiff, in the event of award of such orders, the right to copy any and all said documents as it has not heretofore received, at least 20 days prior to trial. Accordingly, it was error to order the striking of the answer of defendant Computer Energy Corporation. Rabin, P.J., Latham, Christ, Brennan and Benjamin, JJ., concur.