Insight Technology, Inc. brought this action in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County against Darren Brewer, Patrick Hull, GetLoaded.com, LLC, and FreightCheck, LLC. Insight asserted claims against these parties for breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, misappropriation of corporate opportunities, and fraud. Insight alleged that Brewer, who was Insight’s president, and Hull secretly agreed to create FreightCheck to compete with Insight using Insight’s own computer software and business practices. The trial court granted the motions for summary judgment filed by Hull, GetLoaded, and FreightCheck on all claims. The trial court granted Brewer’s motion for summary judgment in part, reserving to the jury Insight’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty, appropriation of corporate opportunities, punitive damages, and attorney fees. Insight appeals, contending jury issues remain on all of its claims, with the exception of its claim against Hull and GetLoaded for appropriation of corporate opportunities. For the reasons explained below, we conclude questions of material fact remain on Insight’s claims against Hull, GetLoaded, and FreightCheck for procuring a breach of fiduciary duties, misappropriation of trade secrets, punitive damages, and attorney fees, and reverse the trial court’s judgment in part. We affirm the remainder of the trial court’s judgment. “On appeal from the grant of summary judgment the appellate court conducts a de novo review of the evidence to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Munroe v. Universal Health Services, Inc. , 277 Ga. 861, 864-865 2 596 SE2d 604 2004.
Viewed in the light most favorable to Insight, the record contains evidence of the following facts. In 1996, Gary Aliengena incorporated Insight in Delaware as an internet-based freight load matching service, or “load board.” Under the name NetTrans, Insight’s virtual load board allowed independent truckers or small trucking companies to search online for available hauling jobs that matched their equipment and availability. The load board derived its revenue from membership fees paid both by the trucking companies and by shipping brokers and others who posted specific hauling jobs on the website. Insight also derived revenue from paid advertising on its website. GetLoaded, which Hull formed in Virginia in 1999, operated a similar virtual load board and competed with Insight.
