Arbitration of Trade Secret Theft Claim Leads to $525 Million Award Against Western Digital

Reuters is reporting that Seagate Technology LLC has been awarded $525 million in an arbitration that it brought against Western Digital and a former Seagate employee who joined Western Digital. The claims involved misappropriation of trade secrets. We have not seen the arbitration award but presume it is as nondescript as most arbitration awards prove to be - one usually has to guess which evidence they found persuasive or compelling.

"We do not believe there is any basis in law or fact for the damage award of the arbitrator," said Western Digital Chief Executive Officer John Coyne. The company said it will "vigorously" challenge the verdict that was awarded in an arbitration action in Minnesota.

Appeals of arbitration awards are particularly difficulty to win but we'll keep an eye on this one for you. This is a big one and we would imagine Western Digital is second-guessing its agreement to arbitrate this dispute.