Eli Lilly and Co. v. Marshall

In this products liability suit, plaintiffs requested discovery of documents relating to the drug Prozac. Defendants filed a motion with the trial court seeking an order limiting the disclosure of certain of these documents under Rule 76a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, based upon a claim of trade secret. At the hearing on the motion, the application of Rule 76a to trade secrets was disputed, and the trial court declined to consider the merits of this claim.

Although the rule’s definition of “court records” excludes “discovery in cases originally initiated to preserve bona fide trade…