A federal appeals court has ruled that a defendant in a trade secrets case is not a prevailing party and thus entitled to attorney fees when the plaintiff successfully moves to have the lawsuit dismissed without prejudice.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a ruling by a judge from the Western District of Texas who said that a dismissal without prejudice does not equate to a judgment in favor of the defendant.

“Because such a dismissal does not establish the winner of the dispute, we affirm the denial of fees,” wrote Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa for the panel. Judges W. Eugene Davis and Andrew Oldham joined in the ruling.