The Hurry Family Revocable Trust v. Christopher Frankel

── The Hurry Family Revocable Trust v. Christopher Frankel ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: May 06, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 23-10365 Document: 85-1 Date Filed: 05/06/2026 Page: 1 of 27 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 23-10365 ____________________ THE HURRY FAMILY REVOCABLE TRUST, SCOTTSDALE CAPITAL ADVISORS CORPORATION, ALPINE SECURITIES CORPORATION, Plaintiffs-Counter Defendants-Appellees Cross Appellants, versus CHRISTOPHER FRANKEL, Defendant-Counter Claimant-Appellant Cross Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:18-cv-02869-CEH-CPT ____________________ Before JILL PRYOR, GRANT, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges. GRANT, Circuit Judge: USCA11 Case: 23-10365 Document: 85-1 Date Filed: 05/06/2026 Page: 2 of 27 2 Opinion of the Court 23-10365 Christopher Frankel’s tenure as CEO of Alpine Securities Corporation ended in July 2018, but he did not leave empty- handed. On his way out the door, Frankel forwarded to his personal email address a host of Alpine’s sensitive documents—and then allegedly used them to negotiate with Alpine’s competitors. Word travels fast, and it wasn’t long before Frankel found himself embroiled in a lawsuit brought by Alpine and two related entities, Scottsdale Capital Advisors Corporation and the Hurry Family Revocable Trust. Years of motion practice, contentious discovery, and trial delays ensued, but the case eventually proceeded to trial in April 2021. The jury found that Frankel breached his nondisclosure agreements, misappropriated Alpine’s trade secrets, and unjustly enriched himself by over $900,000. Frankel now appeals. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s unjust enrichment award, as well as the district court’s decisions to exclude a defense witness and to allow Alpine to argue that Frankel had been unjustly enriched. Alpine, for its part, cross-appeals the district court’s denial of its request for a permanent injunction. We affirm on all fronts. I. We begin by introducing the parties and describing the events that culminated in this lawsuit. We then turn to the many months the parties spent in pretrial proceedings. We close by discussing the trial, the jury’s verdict, the parties’ posttrial motions, and this appeal. USCA11 Case: 23-10365 Document: 85-1 Date Filed: 05/06/2026 Page: 3 of 27 23-10365 Opinion of the Court 3 A. Alpine Securities and Scottsdale Capital are two companies involved in the broker-dealer business. They specialize in the buying and selling of over-the-counter stocks—stocks for smaller companies that are not listed on a formal exchange. Although their capabilities differ slightly, Alpine and Scottsdale were previously indirectly controlled by a common owner: the Hurry Family Revocable Trust. Christopher Frankel joined Alpine as CEO in July 2015. As relevant here, Frankel signed two nondisclosure agree