Lamp Manufacturer Wins Trade Secrets Verdict

From the Roanoke (Va.) Times, a report on a $1.5 million jury verdict in a case between rival lamp manufacturers. Plaintiff Mario Industries Inc. accused its former sales contract manager of setting up a rival corporation, Renaissance Contract Lightning & Furnishing Inc., while on Mario's company time and using inside knowledge to lure sales reps away and divert contract jobs. Mario claimed it lost $2.7 million in sales over two years because of Renaissance's unfair practices.

The jury also found four individual defendants liable for the $1.5 million and ordered one of them to pay $56,000 in punitive damages.

According to defendants' lawyer, an appeal will likely follow.