Judge Orders GoDaddy to Transfer Domains and Enjoins Former Employee in BTQ Trade Secret Case

PHOENIX (LN) — U.S. District Judge Steven D. Holden issued the order on May 11, extending the temporary restraining order (TRO) originally entered on May 5. The order requires GoDaddy to transfer the domains latentcap.com and btqfiles.com to accounts designated by BTQ within 72 hours of the order's issuance or when BTQ provides its preferred customer account number, whichever is later.

GoDaddy must lift the lock on the transferred domains but maintain a lock on the GoDaddy customer account associated with the domain names until the court orders otherwise.

Defendants GoDaddy.com, LLC and GoDaddy, Inc. appeared at the May 11 hearing and did not oppose extending the TRO. Defendant Nicolas Roussy Newton did not appear and has not indicated opposition.

Newton is enjoined from accessing, using, controlling, or interfering with the btqfiles.com and latentcap.com domains. He is also barred from accessing or interfering with the Google Workspace account associated with latentcap.com.

Newton remains temporarily enjoined from publishing, disseminating, or disclosing any material obtained through his access to the domains, including BTQ's trade secrets, confidential information, or attorney-client privileged communications. The injunction also covers the personal information and records of BTQ's officers, directors, employees, business partners, customers, or shareholders.

Newton is temporarily enjoined from making any commercial use of the "BTQ" mark, name, or designation likely to cause confusion with BTQ or its associated entities.

He must return all copies of records and information downloaded from the Latentcap Workspace Account to Latent Capital and/or permanently destroy them within 24 hours of service of the order.

BTQ's $100 bond posted in connection with the May 5 TRO remains in effect as sufficient security for the extended order.

The court will hold a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction on June 12 at 10:00 a.m.

Plaintiffs must file separate status reports by May 15 informing the court whether they believe GoDaddy and Newton have complied with the order's terms.