New motion filed in eTreppid case

RENO -- A federal judge wants the Justice Department to explain why it believes it does not have to produce copies of photographs of items the FBI seized from a former software designer in a legal battle over trade secrets and allegations of wrongdoing by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department filed a motion in U.S. District Court on Friday stating that in order to prove why the case should be dismissed, it needs copies it has been denied of sealed documents filed by the designer, Dennis Montgomery, in his lawsuit against eTreppid Technologies.

The filings are the latest in a dispute between Warren Trepp of Incline Village, and Montgomery, a former partner in Trepp's software company, eTreppid.

Each claim to be the rightful owner of classified software used to combat terrorism.

Montgomery claims Gibbons helped secure U.S. contracts for his friend Trepp while he was in Congress. The FBI is investigating whether he failed to report gifts or payments from the company.

On Friday, the Justice Department said in a motion it is handcuffed because it has not been served with documents Montgomery filed under seal arguing against the department's motion to dismiss the case.

The government's lawyers argue some of the information in the case might be "subject to the state secrets privilege."

Trepp, a former chief trader for convicted junk-bond dealer Michael Milken, has accused Montgomery in the civil litigation filed in January 2006 of stealing eTreppid property.

Montgomery filed a countersuit. He maintains he owns the "source codes" at issue, which he says the U.S. military is utilizing to fight the war on terrorism, but eTreppid argues the codes were company property.

Montgomery also has accused Gibbons of improperly influencing former U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden into raiding his Reno home and storage facility in March 2006.

Both Trepp and Gibbons have denied the allegations.