Ohio Defense Contractor Wins $23 Million Trade Secrets Verdict
By Todd
Entrepreneur.com is reporting that an Ohio defense contractor whose former employees misappropriated trade secrets to set up their own company and work with a competitor received a jury verdict of nearly $23 million.
Innovative Technologies Corp. was awarded $17 million in punitive damages and almost $6 million in compensatory damages by a Montgomery County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas jury, which based its verdict on findings that David P. Nicholas, James R. Silcott, and Sheila K. Silcott had given a rival firm an unfair advantage in the marketplace, subjecting ITC to "disgorgement of compensation by faithless servants." James A. Dyer, lead attorney for the Riverside, Ohio, support services contractor, said the jury "wanted to send a message to companies that act with faithless servants--you need to play fair."
The competing firm, Advanced Management Technology Inc. of Arlington, Va., was ordered to pay virtually all of the damages, Dyer said, having been found guilty of tortious inference with business relationships, civil conspiracy, and theft of trade secrets for acting in collusion with the former employees of Innovative Technologies.
This is a major trade secrets verdict and one that we'll watch for reports of an appeal.
Innovative Technologies Corp. was awarded $17 million in punitive damages and almost $6 million in compensatory damages by a Montgomery County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas jury, which based its verdict on findings that David P. Nicholas, James R. Silcott, and Sheila K. Silcott had given a rival firm an unfair advantage in the marketplace, subjecting ITC to "disgorgement of compensation by faithless servants." James A. Dyer, lead attorney for the Riverside, Ohio, support services contractor, said the jury "wanted to send a message to companies that act with faithless servants--you need to play fair."
The competing firm, Advanced Management Technology Inc. of Arlington, Va., was ordered to pay virtually all of the damages, Dyer said, having been found guilty of tortious inference with business relationships, civil conspiracy, and theft of trade secrets for acting in collusion with the former employees of Innovative Technologies.
This is a major trade secrets verdict and one that we'll watch for reports of an appeal.
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