Plaintiff accuses business partners of misappropriating trade secrets

Estate Documents Pro, LLC has taken legal action against several individuals, accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets and breaching contracts. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona on February 24, 2026, targeting Ronald Dean Palmiter, Jana Lynn Palmiter, Travis Seth Kniep, and Kimberly Joy Kniep. This case brings to light serious allegations involving proprietary software and intellectual property.

The plaintiff, Estate Documents Pro, LLC (EDP), a technology company based in Arizona, has developed a proprietary cloud-based estate planning software platform over the past fifteen years. According to the complaint, EDP accuses the defendants of exploiting their access to this platform under false pretenses to develop a competing product. The defendants are alleged to have signed agreements with EDP that provided them access to its proprietary software but later used this access for competitive research and development. “After using EDP over the past few weeks,” an email from one defendant stated, “we’ve gained valuable insights into estate planning software requirements.” This statement forms part of EDP’s claim that the defendants never intended to honor their agreements but instead aimed to create a rival product.

EDP asserts that these actions violate several laws including the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 and Arizona’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act. The complaint details how defendants allegedly created fake client accounts to explore EDP’s platform systematically and uploaded unauthorized copies of training videos onto YouTube. Furthermore, EDP claims that after gaining insights from their platform, the defendants decided to build their own custom solution without honoring contractual obligations or compensating EDP for its intellectual property.

In seeking judgment from the court, Estate Documents Pro is requesting both preliminary and permanent injunctive reliefs against further use or disclosure of its trade secrets by the defendants. Additionally, they seek compensatory damages for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets as well as punitive damages due to what they describe as willful misconduct by the defendants. They also demand restitution and disgorgement of profits obtained through these alleged violations.

Representing Estate Documents Pro in this matter are attorneys Gregory B. Collins and Sarah D. Malham from Dorsey & Whitney LLP. The case is presided over by Judge Susan M Brnovich under Case ID 2:26-cv-01278-SMB.