It’s no secret that companies sometimes bring trade secrets cases to harm a competitor. But it’s rare for a trade secret defendant to find evidence of a plaintiff’s ulterior motives as Schiff Hardin did in a fight between two plastic-packaging companies.
A trade secrets complaint Portola Packaging filed against a rival backfired dramatically when a Chicago state judge sanctioned the company and awarded Schiff Hardin’s client, Logoplaste, its attorney fees in the case. Based on internal e-mails produced during discovery, the judge ruled Portola brought the case to undercut Logoplaste’s expansion into Canada and hid its true agenda in court.
