Daily Dicta: Newly-Confirmed to the 9th Circuit, Kirkland's Bress Notches Final Win in Court
For Daniel Bress, who was confirmed to the Ninth Circuit on July 9, the victory on behalf of Honeywell is a nice capstone to his career in private practice.
July 18, 2019 at 10:46 AM
4 minute read
We can't make Daniel Bress Litigator of the Week. The former Kirkland & Ellis partner was confirmed on July 9 by the U.S. Senate to a seat on the Ninth Circuit.
But in a nice capstone to his career in private practice, Bress on Tuesday scored a big summary judgment win for Honeywell International before a North Carolina state court in a high-stakes trade secret fight against Dutch industrial giant DSM.
At issue: revolutionary technology used by the U.S. military for its “enhanced combat helmet.” Lighter and stronger, it's even capable of safely stopping a rifle shot to the head.
In 2006, engineer James Thagard began working for DSM, where he assisted in developing materials for helmet applications. In March of 2009, Thagard quit DSM and the following year, he joined Honeywell as global business manager for helmets.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military was working with manufacturers to develop a next-generation combat helmet.
3M subsidiary Ceradyne won the contract to manufacture the helmets, but the actual bullet-stopping high tech material would be supplied by DSM or Honeywell.
The exact details are redacted, but each company created some kind of material that used polyurethane resin to hold fibers together in order to distribute the energy of an impact from, say, a bullet.
Originally, DSM won out—the military in 2010 picked its material for the helmets. But Honeywell kept working on improving its product, and DSM helmets kept failing tests—the helmets couldn't stop bullets. “THIS PROCESS PASSES IN OCTOBER OR THIS PROGRAM DIES,” Ceradyne told DSM. (Emphasis in the original.)
In 2013, Honeywell submitted its newest material to Ceradyne. It performed three times better in blunt impact testing and was significantly cheaper, so Honeywell got the nod to replace DSM.
While this is surely a win for soldiers and taxpayers, DSM pointed the finger at its former employee Thagard, claiming that he stole their trade secrets.
In an opinion made public on July 16, Chief Judge Louis Bledsoe III of the North Carolina Business Court sided with Honeywell in granting summary judgment.
Bledsoe noted that DSM, which was represented by McCullough Ginsberg Montano & Partners and Bell, Davis & Pitt, “has not come forward with any evidence of misappropriation.”
Honeywell “made substantial progress in its efforts to select a new resin for helmet UD materials prior to Thagard's arrival,” Bledsoe noted.
As for another supposed DSM trade secret, this one concerning the treatment of fibers in anti-ballistic materials, Bledsoe concluded the technique “is generally known in the industry.” Plus Honeywell holds various patents dating back to 1995 that deal with this.
“DSM has failed to demonstrate the existence of an actionable trade secret in those concepts and summary judgment on that basis is proper,” the judge held.
In addition to Bress, Kirkland's Craig Primis, Kate Katz, Alexia Brancato, Sarah Smith and Ross Powell worked on the case.
DSM counsel Dino Haloulos of McCullough Ginsberg did not respond to a request for comment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllWhy Lewis Roca's Doug Tumminello Treks to Ukraine to Offer Material and Moral Support in Fight Against Russia
Litigators of the Week: In Largest MDL to Date, 3M Settles for $6B With Veterans Claiming Hearing Damage
Litigators of the Week: Willkie's $455M Win Against Iran for US Soldiers Hurt or Killed in Terrorism Attacks in Iraq
The Lawyers Behind a Rare Defense Win in the Navy's 'Fat Leonard' Bribery Probe
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Guarantees Are Back, Whether Law Firms Want to Talk About Them or Not
- 4Trump Files $10B Suit Against CBS in Amarillo Federal Court
- 5Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250