The battle over the troubled JooJoo tablet continued last week when a judge threw out most of the complaints filed by TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, allowing the case to proceed only on the breach of fiduciary duty claim.
TechCrunch's motion for a preliminary injunction was denied.
"Even if [TechCrunch] eventually prove an entitlement to share in any profits realized from sales of the JooJoo, their request to sequester 100 percent of the sales proceeds is overbroad and not tenable," according to court documents.
The judge approved Fusion Garage's motion to dismiss claims of misappropriation of business ideas, fraud, violations of the Lanham Act, and violations of the California Business and Professions Code.
TechCrunch has 20 days, however, to file an amended complaint on the last three points.
The court found that TechCrunch and Fusion Garage did indeed embark on a "joint venture." Fusion Garage argued that no such arrangement existed because the two companies never signed a formal contract. However, the court held that a partnership can be "written, oral, or, implied."
Fusion Garage also claimed that no partnership or joint venture existed because a TechCrunch employee at one time proposed taking actions that would have violated fiduciary duties held towards Fusion Garage, according to court documents.
"This shows, Fusion Garage contends, a 'clear belief' on Tech Crunch's part that no fiduciary duties existed, thereby supporting a conclusion that there was in fact no partnership," the judge wrote. "TechCrunch has adequately shown, however, that it took steps to reject its employee's suggestions. At most, therefore, Fusion Garage has shown a potential breach of fiduciary duty by TechCrunch, or an attempted breach, not that there was no partnership or joint venture giving rise to fiduciary duties in the first instance."
At issue is the JooJoo tablet, a device that Fusion Garage introduced in December and started shipping in March. Arrington said that he and Fusion Garage jointly developed the tablet – which he initially dubbed the CrunchPad – but that at the last second, Fusion Garage decided to release the tablet on its own.
Several days after the JooJoo announcement, Arrington sued Fusion Garage. In February, Fusion Garage
In a statement, Fusion Garage said the "joint venture" aspect of the ruling was "disappointing," but said "it emerged overall in a strong position coming out of this legal round."
"Regardless of surrounding legal issues, Fusion Garage remains focused on building the company and innovating in the consumer electronics market," the company continued. "We believe the legal system will take care of the rest."
After he filed his lawsuit in December, Arrington said via Twitter that he would no longer be writing any Crunchpad-related posts.
The real question might be whether the JooJoo is worth fighting over. In its full review, PCMag gave the tablet an abysmal 1.5 out of 5 stars, and there were reports that Fusion Garage only received 90 pre-orders of the device, 15 of which were cancelled.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5pm Eastern with comment from Fusion Garage.