Litigator of the Week: Distilling a $350M Trade Secrets Fight Down to the Essential Facts
To win a defense verdict in a $350 million trade secrets fight between the world's two largest essential oil companies, Ballard Spahr partner Mark Gaylord first had to convince a Utah judge that the case boiled down to simple contract dispute.
June 30, 2017 at 01:41 AM
3 minute read
To win a defense verdict in a $350 million trade secrets fight between the world's two largest essential oil companies, Ballard Spahr partner Mark Gaylord first had to convince a Utah judge that the case boiled down to simple contract dispute.
Gaylord, managing partner of Ballard's Salt Lake City office, represents doTERRA, which was sued by essential oil manufacturing competitor Young Living Essential Oils in 2012 in Utah state district court.
In its original complaint, Young Living hit doTERRA with nine causes of action, alleging theft of trade secrets, unfair competition and civil conspiracy among others. The company also alleged that doTERRA hired several of its former employees for the purpose of stealing its “most valuable assets,” including computers and documents that doTERRA used to start a competing company. Young Living also alleged that doTERRA used the former employees to steal a number of its distributors, costing them $350 million in lost business.
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