Sample jury charge-non-compete case

Cause No. _________

ABC COMPANY, INC. § IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF §

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Plaintiff, §

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v. §

§ __________ COUNTY, TEXAS

JOHN DOE §

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Defendant. §

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§ __________ JUDICIAL DISTRICT

CHARGE OF THE COURT ¹

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY:

This ease is submitted to you by asking questions about the facts, which you must decide from the evidence you have heard in the trial. You are the sole judges of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to their testimony, but in matters of law, you must be governed by the instructions in this charge. In discharging your responsibility on this jury, you will observe all the instructions that have previously been given to you. I shall now give you additional instructions that you should carefully and strictly follow during your deliberations.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Do not let bias, prejudice or sympathy play any part in your deliberations.

2. In arriving at your answers, consider only the evidence introduced here under oath and such exhibits, if any, as have been introduced for your consideration under the rulings of this court; that is, what you have seen and heard in this courtroom, together with the law, as given you by the court. In your deliberations, you will not consider or discuss anything that is not represented by the evidence in this case.

3. Since every answer that is required by the charge is important, no juror should state or consider that any required answer is not important.

4. You must not decide who you think should win, and then try to answer the questions accordingly. Simply answer the questions, and do not discuss nor concern yourselves with the effect of your answers.

5. You will not decide the answer to a question by lot or by drawing straws, or by any other method of chance. Do not return a quotient verdict. A quotient verdict means that the jurors agree to abide by the result to be reached by adding together each juror's figures and dividing by the number of jurors to get an average. Do not do any trading on your answers; that is, one juror should not agree to answer a certain question one way if others will agree to answer another question another way.

6. Unless otherwise instructed, you may answer a question upon the vote of 10 or more jurors. If you answer more than one question upon the vote of 10 or more jurors, the same group of at least 10 of you must agree upon the answers to each of those questions.

   These instructions are given to you because your conduct is subject to review the same as that of the witnesses, parties, attorneys, and the judge. If it should be found that you have disregarded any of these instructions, it will be jury misconduct and it may require another trial by another jury; then all of our time will have been wasted.

   The presiding juror or any other who observes a violation of the court's instructions shall immediately warn the one who is violating the same and caution the juror not to do so again.

   When words are used in this charge in a sense that varies from the meaning commonly understood, you are given a proper legal definition, which you are bound to accept in place of any other meaning.

   Answer “Yes” or “No” to all questions unless otherwise instructed. A “Yes” answer must be based on a preponderance of the evidence unless you are otherwise instructed. If you do not find that a preponderance of the evidence supports a “Yes” answer, then answer “No.” The term “preponderance of the evidence” means the greater weight and degree of credible evidence admitted in this case. Whenever a question requires an answer other than “Yes” or “No,” your answer must be based on a preponderance of the evidence unless you are otherwise instructed.

   If you answer questions about damages, answer each question separately. Do not increase or reduce the amount in one answer because of the instructions in or your answers to any other questions about damages. Do not speculate about what any party's ultimate recovery may—or may not—tie. Any recovery will be determined by the court when it applies the law to your answers at the time of judgment.

   An important part of your function is to weigh and evaluate the evidence and the testimony of each witness and documents admitted into evidence by the judge. In exercising this function you may and should consider the conduct and demeanor of the witnesses, their bias, interest, prejudice, or lack of such qualities, and may and should determine the witness's credibility under the facts and circumstances of this case. You may accept part of a witness's testimony and reject part of it; you may accept all of it or reject all of it: and you may accept all of one witness's testimony and reject the testimony of other witnesses, although you must not do this arbitrarily.

   A fact may be established by direct evidence or by circumstantial evidence or both. A fact is established by direct evidence when proved by documentary evidence or by witnesses who saw the act done or heard the words spoken. A fact is established by circumstantial evidence when it may be fairly and reasonably inferred from other facts proved.

   Deposition testimony is testimony that has been previously taken under oath. You are instructed that such testimony is entitled to be given the same weight you would give it if it were presented by a witness appearing in the courtroom during trial.

   During trial, it is permissible for you to take notes. You may carry those notes to the jury room for your personal use during deliberation on the court's charge. You may not share these notes with other jurors. Your personal recollection of the evidence takes precedence over any notes you have taken. A juror may not rely on the notes of another juror. If you disagree about the evidence, the presiding juror may apply to the court and have the court reporter's notes read to the jury.

   DEFINITIONS:

   “ABC” means ABC Company, Inc.

   “Non-Competition Agreement” means the agreement titled “Non-Competition Confidentiality Agreement” and signed by John Doe on _______________.

   QUESTION 1:

   [PROVISION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND/OR TRADE SECRETS]

   Did ABC provide John Doe with confidential information or trade secrets during his employment?

   A “trade secret” or “confidential information” may consist of any formula, pattern, device or compilation of information which is used in one's business, and which gives him an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.²

   When money and time are invested in the development of a procedure or device that is based on an idea which is not new to a particular industry, and when that certain procedure or device is not generally known, trade secret protection will exist.³

   Further, when an effort is made to keep material important to a particular business from competitors, trade secret protection is warranted.⁴

   Items such as customer lists, pricing information, client information, customer preferences, buyer contacts, market strategies, modes of business operation, blueprints, drawings, and other confidential or proprietary information can be considered trade secrets and/or confidential information.⁵

   A former employee may not use trade secrets or confidential information acquired during employment to compete with a former employer.⁶

   ...