Singaporean Supply Chain Company vs. US Logistics Company
Claim Type – Misappropriation of Trade Secrets & Tortious Interference
Jurisdiction – US, Florida

CHALLENGE

Two major supply chain projects in Florida, USA were contracted to a Singaporean logistics company after it developed proprietary software programs. In addition to training, this required continuous interaction between the teams.

As the US company acquired their unique know-how, it implemented a nearly identical internal function to cater for third-party projects as well. The key manager from the Singaporean entity was hired by the US company after his controversial resignation.

The company initially considered terminating the contracts with its business partner and the employee, both of which had capped liquidated damages, as well as possibly seeking redress from their business partner for illicit solicitation. Specifically, they aimed to address the threat of the counterparty enticing new employees, as part of a plan to extract trade secrets. As a result, the US company committed to refrain from soliciting Claimholder’s employees, conducting business with their clients’, or misappropriating trade secrets for a period.

PRACTICLAIM SOLUTION

Despite a lack of evidence that the resigning manager was poached, as well as the difficulty of proving a non-solicitation violation under Florida law, the Practiclaim solution was enough to tip the balance. In order to avoid lengthy and costly approaches to hiring and appointing US law firms, the Claimholder entrusted the claim management tasks to a dedicated Practiclaim professional.

The preliminary assessment intended to provide visibility at an early stage, while covering practical high-level strategic aspects. This helped check eligibility and test prospects, while setting out a solid action plan and addressing the potential measures that could be taken to achieve the right outcomes.

After deliberations with the claim stakeholders, the claim manager changed strategy by suggesting an offensive stance to find a solution to the claim. Subsequently, notices of dispute were issued to both infringing parties stating loss of profit, civil conspiracy, bad faith and tortious interference as well as threatening to bring a claim in Florida to seek substantial remedies, beyond the contractually capped compensation, including punitive and treble damages. The parties settled quickly, admitting fault, disbursing partial damages, paying legal costs and adhering to strict non-solicitation and non-compete obligations.

EFFECT

The Claimholder benefited early from the Practiclaim solution. The matter was solved with a low upfront cost and without involving foreign jurisdictions. The fee was aligned with the needs, budget and internal policies of the Singaporean entity.

Saving money while maintaining a continuous relationship with counterparties and advancing a claim that had little chances of success at first.

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