December 13, 2023
Michigan courts this year handed down rulings that should revitalize the plaintiffs' bar, shake up how the car capital of the world does business and serve as a reminder that without enough evidence to back them up, nine-figure jury verdicts can be undone. Law360 looks back at some of the decisions that made waves in Michigan this year.
October 19, 2023
A Michigan federal judge on Thursday denied a bid by Versata Software Inc. for an injunction blocking Ford Motor Co. from using stolen trade secrets, finding the software company has not shown that it faces irreparable harm to its business or reputation without an injunction.
October 02, 2023
Ford Motor Co. told a Michigan federal judge on Monday that an injunction barring its use of protected information would be improper because it already stopped using the trade secrets that a jury said the company stole from Versata Software.
July 24, 2023
Michigan lawyers say they have been genuinely surprised so far this year by a host of decisions in both state and federal court, as judges tossed the decades-old framework for collective class action notifications and scrapped what was a major trade secrets trial loss for Ford.
June 08, 2023
A Michigan federal judge who erased a $105 million jury award against Ford Motor Co. issued a correction Thursday to his May order, making clear the automaker's former software vendor prevailed in its trade secrets claims despite losing its award windfall.
May 12, 2023
Shortly after a Michigan federal judge wiped out most of a $105 million jury award against Ford Motor Co., Versata Software Inc. urged the judge to permanently block Ford from continuing to use its trade secrets or alternatively award the company $13 million per year each year Ford continues to do so.
May 01, 2023
A Michigan federal judge on Monday wiped out a $105 million jury verdict against Ford Motor Co., finding Versata Software Inc. hadn't given the jury enough information to calculate the damages it sustained due to Ford's alleged breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets.
March 31, 2023
A Michigan federal judge on Friday challenged Versata Software Inc. to prove it gave Ford pretrial notice of its damages theory in a trade secrets case over software for managing vehicle components, pressing the company to explain how it would be fair to uphold $105 million in damages Ford calls "duplicative."
December 08, 2022
Ford Motor Co. urged a Michigan federal judge on Thursday to reduce a $104.65 million damages award that a jury levied after finding that the automaker breached a contract with Versata Software Inc. and misappropriated its trade secrets, arguing that the damages are "duplicative."
October 26, 2022
A Michigan federal jury found Wednesday that Ford Motor Co. breached a contract with Versata Software and misappropriated its trade secrets, awarding Versata a total of $104.65 million in damages after a three-week trial.