Frost Brown Todd Secures $96 Million Jury Verdict for Prysmian in Trade Secrets Case

Frost Brown Todd (FBT) secured a significant legal victory on behalf of client Prysmian Cables & Systems, a global leader in the energy transition and digital transformation sectors, in a lawsuit involving the misappropriation of the company's trade secrets by a former executive and competitor.

A jury awarded Prysmian more than $96 million in damages in its lawsuit against Sterlite Technologies, Inc. and former Prysmian executive, Stephen Szymanski. The successful outcome for Prysmian followed a three-week jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Prysmian filed the lawsuit in June 2021, alleging that Szymanski, who previously managed Prysmian's optical fiber cable business in North America, took confidential information and trade secrets to his new employer, Sterlite, a direct competitor. FBT's team of attorneys and business professionals worked diligently on the case for three years, uncovering critical evidence that led to the decision. The trial revealed that Sterlite had obtained thousands of pages of Prysmian's confidential information, including details about its customers, new products, and expansion plans. This information was found not only with Szymanski but also at Sterlite's global headquarters in Pune, India.

In addition to the $96.5 million in damages against Sterlite, the jury awarded $200,000 in damages against Mr. Szymanski personally for his role in the misappropriation.

The FBT team was led by Peter Cummins, Simon Svirnovskiy, David Skidmore, and Debbie Adams. The case involved both business litigation attorneys and labor and employment attorneys from four different FBT offices. In addition, additional attorneys, paralegals, and business professionals supported a massive effort to try the case. FBT attorneys also worked closely with Maynard Nexsen from Columbia, South Carolina who helped try the case.