Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
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Buffets Inc. v. Klinke
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
73 F.3d 965 (1996)
Buffets Incorporated versus Klinke features a restaurateur who sent his son to work in a competitor's kitchen so he could learn its popular recipes.
Buffets Incorporated operated a chain of cafeteria style restaurants called Old Country Buffet.
Dennis Scott, one of the founders, developed the chain's menus and instituted the innovative practice of small batch cooking to ensure that the buffet offerings were fresh.
Paul Klinke was another successful restaurateur.
After Scott refused his request to buy an Old Country Buffet franchise, Klinke went to considerable effort to acquire Old Country Buffet's recipes.
He sent one of his own employees to work at an Old Country Buffet restaurant and subsequently offered this employee money for the chain's recipes.
Klinke had his son, Greg, get a job as an Old Country Buffet cook without disclosing that he was still on his parents' payroll.
Klinke also hired a former Old Country Buffet employee, Mark Miller. Miller compiled a collection of Old Country Buffet recipes that he delivered to Klinke and composed an employee manual that was almost identical to Old Country Buffets. Klinke then opened his own buffet restaurant, Granny's. He used Miller's employee manual to train employees in the Old Country Buffet recipes to prepare granny's dishes.
Old Country Buffet sued Klinke for misappropriation of trade secrets.
The district court concluded that the recipes were standard American staples, such as macaroni and cheese and barbecue chicken. As such, they were readily ascertainable and not novel and thus not entitled to trade secret protection. The court found for Klinke, Old Country Buffet appealed to the ninth circuit.
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Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 42,700 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 988 casebooks ► quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview
Buffets Inc. v. Klinke
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
73 F.3d 965 (1996)
Buffets Incorporated versus Klinke features a restaurateur who sent his son to work in a competitor's kitchen so he could learn its popular recipes.
Buffets Incorporated operated a chain of cafeteria style restaurants called Old Country Buffet.
Dennis Scott, one of the founders, developed the chain's menus and instituted the innovative practice of small batch cooking to ensure that the buffet offerings were fresh.
Paul Klinke was another successful restaurateur.
After Scott refused his request to buy an Old Country Buffet franchise, Klinke went to considerable effort to acquire Old Country Buffet's recipes.
He sent one of his own employees to work at an Old Country Buffet restaurant and subsequently offered this employee money for the chain's recipes.
Klinke had his son, Greg, get a job as an Old Country Buffet cook without disclosing that he was still on his parents' payroll.
Klinke also hired a former Old Country Buffet employee, Mark Miller. Miller compiled a collection of Old Country Buffet recipes that he delivered to Klinke and composed an employee manual that was almost identical to Old Country Buffets. Klinke then opened his own buffet restaurant, Granny's. He used Miller's employee manual to train employees in the Old Country Buffet recipes to prepare granny's dishes.
Old Country Buffet sued Klinke for misappropriation of trade secrets.
The district court concluded that the recipes were standard American staples, such as macaroni and cheese and barbecue chicken. As such, they were readily ascertainable and not novel and thus not entitled to trade secret protection. The court found for Klinke, Old Country Buffet appealed to the ninth circuit.
Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: hquimbee.com/cases/buffets-inc-v-klinke
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