Jury verdict for emerging business in aesthetic products industry

Our client was an industry disruptor in the breast implant industry, a new and emerging company with a better product, superior corporate culture, and more trusted relationships with board certified doctors.  When employees of a competitor company began seeking jobs with our client, the competitor sued, claiming illegal lift-out of its employees and theft of its trade secrets.  The lawsuit was an existential risk to our client, which had to prevail in order to survive and grow its business.

The aggressive litigation included dozens of depositions of salespeople, executives from both parties, and experts in industry practices, human resources and computer forensics.  We established critical and resonating themes of employee rights and mobility, and the overreach of the competitor’s tired corporate culture that mistreated its employees and subjected them to endless administrative red tape.  At trial, we proved that our client was fairly and lawfully competing to introduce innovative products to consumers. In contrast, our adversary was engaging in a classic anti-competitive strategy to obstruct our client’s entry into the free market.

After a four-week jury trial in Santa Barbara, we prevailed, eliminating a $25 million damages claim against our client.  The victory allowed our client to successfully break a 20-year duopoly in the U.S. market and provide better products and services to consumers.