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RICHARD CAMPFIELD; ULTRA BOND, INC.,
Plaintiffs-Appellants/Cross-Appellees,
v.
SAFELITE GROUP, INC.; SAFELITE SOLUTIONS LLC;
SAFELITE FULFILLMENT, INC.,
Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants. |
Nos. 22-3204/3225 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus.
No. 2:15-cv-02733—Michael H. Watson, District Judge.
Argued: July 26, 2023
Decided and Filed: January 16, 2024
Before: MOORE, GIBBONS, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Ultra Bond, Inc., and its owner, Richard
Campfield (collectively “Ultra Bond”) operate alongside the defendant companies (“Safelite”) in
the vehicle glass repair and replacement (“VGRR”) industry. The parties represent two different
segments of the VGRR market: Safelite provides windshield repair and replacement services,
while Ultra Bond supplies proprietary bonding resin to repair windshield cracks.
This suit arises from Ultra Bond’s claim that Safelite violated the Lanham Act by falsely
advertising that windshield cracks longer than six inches could not be safely repaired and instead
required replacement of the entire windshield. Safelite counterclaims that Ultra Bond stole trade
secrets from Safelite in violation of state and federal law. On cross-motions for summary
judgment, the district court rejected both parties’ claims—granting summary judgment to
Safelite on Ultra Bond’s Lanham Act claim and granting summary judgment to Ultra Bond on
Safelite’s trade secrets claims. The parties cross-appeal the district court’s order. We affirm in
part and reverse in part and remand for further proceedings. |
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