Trade Secrets Litigation

Syntel Sterling Best Shores Mauritius Ltd., et al. v. The TriZetto Group, Inc., et al. (S.D.N.Y.; 2d Cir.)
Secured a $70 million verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for TriZetto and its parent company Cognizant in litigation involving trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement claims against Syntel — bringing the total current award to $300 million after a second jury trial win in this decade-long dispute.

The first trial ended in October 2020 when Kirkland achieved a complete victory, including one of the largest trade secret damages verdicts in U.S. history, for TriZetto. Over the next four years, a series of further decisions at the district and appeals court levels resulted in the Second Circuit affirming liability in full and remanding for further proceedings on the compensatory damages portion of the overall damages award. Kirkland ultimately moved for a new trial to determine compensatory damages, which was granted in October 2024. After a week-long proceeding in the compensatory damages trial, the jury again ruled in favor of TriZetto, rejecting Syntel’s argument that zero damages should be awarded, and instead awarding $70 million damages for lost sales, price erosion and royalty claims. The total amount of $300 million, along with the permanent injunction granted by the court, makes this one of the largest and most significant trade secret awards to have been litigated under the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act since its enactment in 2016. The victory was profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” feature.

Air Comm Corporation LLC, et al. v. ERG Aerospace Corporation, et al. (D. Colo.)
Secured a preliminary injunction for Air Comm Corporation (ACC) in a case alleging that seven former employees took trade secrets and confidential information related to ACC’s environmental control systems business before moving to their new employer, competitor ERG Aerospace Corp. Finding a “flagrant taking and using of trade secrets,” the judge granted the requested injunction following an evidentiary hearing in October 2025. The victory was profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” feature.

Comet Technologies USA Inc., et al. v. XP Power LLC (N.D. Cal.)
Represented Comet Group in a competitor-versus-competitor litigation against XP Power, LLC involving development and ownership of the future of critical next-generation semiconductor manufacturing technology. Comet accused competitor XP Power of willfully misappropriating multiple trade secret technologies owned and developed by Comet. In March 2022, the jury returned a verdict finding XP “willfully and maliciously” stole trade secrets, and awarded Comet $40 million in unjust enrichment and punitive damages. Later that year, the Court granted Comet’s post-trial request for a permanent injunction. In January 2025, the Court awarded Comet the full amount of legal fees requested, plus prejudgment interest. The victory was profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” feature.

Lupin Atlantis Holdings S.A. v. Zeng (S.D. Fla.)
Represented Lupin Atlantis and its parent company in a trade secret, breach of contract, and state-law tort lawsuit concerning its inhalation pharmaceutical products, including defeating the defendants’ motion to dismiss. After the court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on Lupin’s trade secret claim and motion to exclude Lupin’s experts, the parties reached a confidential settlement.

LivePerson, Inc. v. [24]7.ai, Inc. (N.D. Cal.; USPTO); [24]7.ai, Inc., et al. v. LivePerson, Inc. (N.D. Cal.)
Represented LivePerson in its trade secret misappropriation lawsuit against [24]7ai, Inc., alleging that [24]7 unlawfully acquired LivePerson’s proprietary information on online customer engagement technology. LivePerson defeated [24]7’s motion for summary judgment on a number of grounds. In 2021, the jury returned a verdict for LivePerson on every claim, and awarded $30 million in damages. The case was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top Verdicts” in 2021. In 2023, the parties ultimately settled their dispute.

MercuryGate International, Inc. v. Amous International, Inc., et al. (N.D. Ill.)
Represented MercuryGate International in trade secret, computer fraud, and breach of contract litigation concerning transportation management software brought against MercuryGate’s former employee and Amous International, the competing company he established. Within a month of bringing the lawsuit, Kirkland obtained two temporary restraining orders and a preliminary injunction, leading to a settlement.

Incyte v. Flexus Biosciences, Inc., et al. (Del. Super. Ct.)
Represented Flexus, now a Bristol-Myers Squibb subsidiary, and its founders in a dispute in which the plaintiff alleged misappropriation of trade secrets for cancer drugs and sought more than $1 billion. Kirkland prevailed at summary judgment in successfully eliminating six of eight alleged trade secrets and cut damages by half. The trial resulted in a unanimous jury verdict for all defendants. The victory was profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” feature.

Staton Techiya, LLC, et al. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al. (E.D. Tex.; Fed. Cir.)
Represented Samsung companies in a suit in which the plaintiffs alleged that Samsung’s smartphones and AI app infringe 14 patents. Following a bench trial, the judge found that Techiya’s asserted patents were unenforceable because the patent owner had used information stolen from Samsung by two former in house attorneys to build its case, delivering Samsung an “unclean hands” defense win and dismissing the patent case against Samsung. The victory was profiled in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” feature.