Court Commends Professionalism of Counsel in Trade Secret Dispute
The Southern District of Iowa entered judgment after jury trial in a trade secret misappropriation case. C Plus Northwest, Inc. v. DeGroot, 2008 WL 391271 (S.D. Iowa 2/14/08).
The facts of the case are not particularly exceptional. Mr. Sjogren owned C Plus; defendants were key employees. Defendants than formed a new company, diverted C Plus customers to their new company, and left C Plus with substantial liabilities. The jury awarded Sjogren and C Plus total damages of $1.295 million to C Plus and Sjogren. The court remitted the award to $752,000 to C Plus and denied individual damages to Sjogren.
The exceptional aspect of this case was the court's praise of the attorneys' professionalism: "The parties were represented well at trial, and the hard work and professionalism exhibited by counsel for both sides was apparent to the Court, as well as to the jurors." Id. at * 1.
