On October 14, the California Supreme Court agreed to review the Second District Appellate Court’s decision which held that the former employees of FLIR couldn’t sue FLIR’s former counsel, Latham & Watkins, for malicious prosecution because the trial court had denied the former employees’ summary judgment motion during the threatened trade secret misappropriation litigation.
In the underlying action, FLIR sued two of its former employees for threatened trade secret misappropriation because FLIR alleged a business plan that the two former employees authored and intended to carry to fruition could not be successful unless the former employees used trade secrets stolen from FLIR. FLIR was able to defeat the former employees’ summary judgment motion despite the former employees’ proof that they had submitted the same business plan to another company before working for FLIR. FLIR offered expert testimony at the summary judgment stage that purported to prove that no company other than FLIR had the technology necessary for the success of the former employees’ business plan. At trial, it was revealed that the expert opinions used to defeat the summary judgment motion were based on incomplete information and therefore could not prove that in order for the former employees’ business plan to be a success they would need to use trade secrets stolen from FLIR.
In addition to finding in favor of the former employees, the trial court also held that FLIR initiated and continued the action in bad faith and for anti-competitive motives. The former employees subsequently brought an action against Latham & Watkins for malicious prosecution, but Latham was able to defeat this claim by invoking California anti-SLAPP law. The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed this decision in June. Commentators who advocate for malicious prosecution claims point out that lawyers should not be able to use litigation as an intimidation tactic to deter defendants from moving for summary judgment. If the California Supreme Court affirms the Second District’s decision, it can effectively give a “free pass to lawyers for any decisions made after clearing the summary-judgment hurdle.”
For more information on the history of this litigation see here and here.