Texas Jury Awards ES3 Minerals $49M in Landmark Trade Secret Case

AUSTIN, TX – March 16, 2026 – In a verdict that reverberates from the courtroom to corporate boardrooms, a Texas jury has awarded Austin-based ES3 Minerals, LLC over $49 million, finding three of its former senior executives engaged in a “willful and malicious” scheme to steal the company’s core intellectual property and launch a competing firm. The decision, delivered after a two-week trial, is a landmark event, marking the first jury trial for the Austin division of the state's newly established Texas Business Court.

The twelve-person jury in the Third Division of the Texas Business Court sided comprehensively with ES3 Minerals, valuing the company's misappropriated proprietary system for acquiring and selling mineral rights at more than $40 million. In a unanimous decision, the jury also levied an additional $9 million in exemplary damages against the defendants, signaling a severe penalty for their conduct.

The Anatomy of a Betrayal

The case, ES3 Minerals, LLC v. Kreines, Ryan, LMP, et al., detailed a narrative of corporate espionage orchestrated from within. The jury found that Nicholas Kreines, ES3’s former Vice President of Business Development, along with David Ryan, the former Vice President of Acquisitions, and Jettie Rangel (Jennings), the lead analyst, conspired to replicate their employer's business model while Kreines was still on the payroll.

According to trial evidence, the trio used ES3’s proprietary system—a collection of five distinct trade secrets—to launch a rival mineral brokerage, Liberty Mineral Partners (LMP). The new venture proved highly lucrative, generating over $20 million in revenue within its first eight months of operation, a success the jury attributed to the use of ES3's stolen intellectual property.

Central to the case was the striking similarity between ES3's proprietary 'Rainmaker' software and the defendants' competing platform, which they called 'Gold Digger.' During the trial, ES3’s software engineering expert provided compelling testimony, asserting that 'Gold Digger' was a direct plagiarism of 'Rainmaker.' The expert highlighted specific, complex details that were replicated, testifying that the probability of such an overlap occurring by chance was as improbable as “winning the Powerball lottery three times in a row.”

The jury’s findings were sweeping. Beyond trade secret misappropriation, Kreines was found liable for breaching his fiduciary duty to ES3 by secretly developing LMP’s software and facilitating its transactions while still employed by the company. The jury also found all defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy, that LMP and Ryan intentionally interfered with ES3's employee contracts, and that Kreines and Ryan violated their confidentiality agreements.

A Landmark Verdict for a New Court

This high-stakes verdict carries significance beyond the monetary award; it serves as a powerful inaugural statement for the Texas Business Court. Established by the legislature in 2023 and operational since September 2024, the specialized court was designed to provide an efficient, expert forum for complex commercial litigation, aiming to bolster Texas's reputation as a premier destination for business.

The ES3 Minerals case was precisely the type of dispute the court was created to handle. The trial, presided over by the Honorable Judge Sweeten, proceeded from its removal from a district court to a final jury verdict in under 15 months—a testament to the court's intended efficiency. As one of the very first jury verdicts rendered in the entire Texas Business Court system, it establishes a formidable precedent for intellectual property protection.

By preserving the right to a jury trial, unlike Delaware's judge-only Chancery Court, the Texas model offers a unique venue for complex business disputes. This verdict demonstrates that Texas juries, guided by a specialized judiciary, will not hesitate to protect intellectual property rights and punish bad actors, a message that is sure to be noted by businesses and legal experts across the country.

The Value of Bootstrapped Innovation

The trial also cast a spotlight on the triumphs and vulnerabilities of homegrown innovation. ES3 Minerals was described as a “bootstrapped company” that, without outside funding, developed a sophisticated system that allowed it to compete effectively against much larger, private-equity-backed rivals in the fiercely competitive Texas energy market.

The jury’s valuation of ES3’s integrated trade secret system at over $40 million—a figure supported by testimony from renowned Texas economist Dr. M. Ray Perryman—validates the immense value of the company's proprietary technology. This valuation underscores that a company's most significant assets are not always physical but can be the unique processes and software that provide a competitive edge.

“This verdict sends a clear message that Texas courts and Texas juries will hold employees accountable when they misappropriate their employer’s most valuable assets,” said Michael Marin, lead trial counsel for ES3 Minerals. “Trey Stanton built something genuinely innovative at ES3, a proprietary system that allowed a bootstrapped company with no outside funding to compete with private-equity-backed rivals in one of the most competitive markets in the energy sector. When his most trusted people took that system and used it against him, the jury saw through it and returned a verdict that held every defendant accountable.”

The unanimous finding of “willful and malicious” misappropriation was the key that unlocked the $9 million in exemplary damages, with $2 million assessed against each of four defendants and $1 million against a fifth. This punitive award serves not only to punish the defendants but also as a stark warning to others who might contemplate similar betrayals. As the court prepares to enter a final judgment and consider potential injunctive relief, the case stands as a powerful testament to the legal protections available to innovators who find their creations under threat.