W.L. Gore Wins Injunction and Consent Judgment in Trade Secret Misappropriation Case

W.L. Gore received a $40 million consent judgment, followed by a trial on injunctive relief which resulted in an extremely favorable outcome for Gore.

Our firm represented W.L. Gore in W.L. Gore Associates, Inc. vs. Huey Shen Wu, et. al., a trade secret misappropriation case involving a former senior research scientist. A consent judgment was entered on the eve of trial in favor of Gore for $40 million. Trial was then held on the appropriate scope of injunctive relief. The court issued what appears to be the first “production injunction” ever issued by a Delaware court, essentially prohibiting the former employee from engaging in the research, development or manufacture of an entire class of fluoropolymers for a period of 10 years; requiring him to advise Gore of any new employment; and ordering him to forever refrain from using confidential or proprietary information of Gore.

The cases involved complex issues relating to fluoropolymer chemistry, Fifth Amendment and attorney-client privileges, RICO, and corporate and bankruptcy law. The decision was affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court.

Our firm also represented W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. in a suit seeking to enforce the ten-year production injunction imposed by the Delaware Chancery Court in 2006. The Delaware Chancery Court issued an Order holding Wu and one of his companies, Perfect Defense Technology Co., in contempt of court and ordered that: (1) Wu and Perfect Defense be fined $5,000 per day for every day that they fail to respond to the Court’s satisfaction that they have cured their behavior; and (b) a bench warrant will be issued for Wu’s arrest and incarceration if he does not appear before the Chancery Court by the end of the month.