Firm Secures Victory in Trade Secret Case for Appian
On Thursday, September 15, the court in Fairfax County, Virginia, entered a final judgment ordering Pegasystems, Inc. to pay our client Appian Corporation $2.036 billion in damages and to pay post-judgment interest on those damages at an annual rate of 6%, for trade secret misappropriation. In so doing, the judge rejected Pegasystems’ motion to overturn the May 9th jury verdict, finding that Pegasystems misappropriated Appian’s trade secrets and, additionally, violated the Virginia Computer Crimes Act. The jury had also found Pegasystems’ misappropriation of Appian’s trade secrets to be willful and malicious, which resulted in a court order requiring Pegasystems to pay our client $23.6 million in attorneys’ fees, the full amount that Appian had requested.
In a press release issued by Appian, its General Counsel Christopher Winters noted: “We think that the jury’s verdict was sound, and the Court’s rulings at trial were well founded. Appian only asked for damages representing Pegasystems’ unjust enrichment at Appian’s expense, which was supported by expert witness testimony . . . We will now move to the appellate phase of the litigation, where we are confident that we will prevail as well.”
Patterson Belknap’s team was led by Adeel A. Mangi, Muhammad U. Faridi, and Jeffrey S. Ginsberg.
To read Appian’s press release, click here.
To read additional press coverage in MarketWatch, please click here; and in StreetInsider, please click here.