After an ex-employee of Seagate Technology plc allegedly fabricated evidence in a trade secrets fight involving Western Digital Corp., Seagate lead counsel Lewis Remele Jr. of Bassford Remele hammered away at his opponents at every conceivable turn. A 34-day bench trial and three appeals later, Remele’s efforts paid off when Minnesota’s top court ruled this week that Western Digital can’t escape an arbitration award worth an estimated $800 million.
Echoing statements Remele made at heated oral arguments earlier this year, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an arbitrator didn’t exceed his authority by imposing severe evidentiary sanctions on Western Digital and employee Dr. Sining Mao in a trade secrets misappropriation case brought by Seagate. The sanctions crippled Western Digital’s defense, allowing Seagate and Remele to waltz away with a $530 million award that they say now stands at $800 million with prejudgment interest. (Western Digital’s lawyers dispute the interest calculation, according to Remele, which is fitting given the tenacity with which the case has been litigated.)
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