In 2018, Rock Fuel Media pitched its concept for a sports-gaming platform called “VSports Live” to Resorts World Las Vegas LLC during the development stage of Resorts World’s casino and resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Resorts World did not end up contracting with Rock Fuel, and Rock Fuel never built the VSports Live platform. When Resorts World opened its doors several years later, it instead partnered with third parties to create two apps from which visitors could engage in sports betting, connect to the casino’s loyalty program, make dining reservations, engage in cashless gambling, and more.
Rock Fuel, believing that Resorts World cribbed its app ideas from the 2018 presentation, alleged trade-secret misappropriation, breach of the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) the parties signed before the 2018 presentation, and unjust enrichment.
Resorts World filed a motion to exclude the opinions of Rock Fuel’s purported expert witness, James Martin.
Intellectual Property Expert Witness
James Patrick Martin has more than 25 years of experience representing high-tech companies and their employees in intellectual property matters and technology-based transactions.
He earned his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School.
Discussion by the Court
Martin reviewed Rock Fuel’s presentation materials concerning its app concept and “extracted” an eight-element set of features that Rock Fuel now presents as its trade secret. He opined that the combination of features he identified is protectable and was misappropriated by Resorts World.
Resorts World challenged Martin’s qualifications and accused him of conjuring up this trade secret only after examining Resorts World’s app and highlighting elements that overlap while ignoring those that don’t.
It also moved to exclude Martin’s misappropriation opinion because it isn’t based on any specialized knowledge that would be helpful to a jury.
Rock Fuel relied on Martin’s opinion to contend that the similarities between Rock Fuel’s eight elements and Resorts World’s apps at launch are sufficient circumstantial evidence from which a jury could conclude that Resorts World used Rock Fuel’s presentation materials to create its mobile products.
However, Rock Fuel has not established that he has specialized expertise or knowledge in app development, casino or hotel management software, sports gaming software, or any other field that would give him the specialized knowledge to compare app functionalities. He merely downloaded the Resorts World apps, compared what he saw to the 2018 presentation materials, and concluded that they have some overlap.
Even if Martin’s qualifications sufficed, his opinions are excludable because they do not rely on any specialized knowledge or expertise. He merely reviewed Resorts World’s products, compared them to the combination of elements he identified as Rock Fuel’s trade secret, and concluded that Resorts World “has a system that looks a lot like” Rock Fuel’s concept.
As a result, the Court held that Martin’s opinion on whether Resorts World misappropriated Rock Fuel’s trade secret is not admissible.
Held
The Court granted in part Resorts World’s motion to exclude James Martin’s expert testimony.
Key Takeaway
While experts are generally allowed to opine on whether a product has
been misappropriated, Martin lacks specialized experience that would permit him to glean anything more than a layperson could.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Resorts World Las Vegas LLC V. Rock Fuel Media, Inc. |
| Docket Number: | 2:21cv2218 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Nevada |
| Order Date: | March 12, 2026 |
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