Boeing convinces US judge to overturn $72 mln trade-secrets verdict

Aug 14 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Seattle on Wednesday threw out a jury's $72 million verdict against Boeing (BA.N) in a trade secrets lawsuit brought by electric-aircraft startup Zunum Aero.

U.S. District Judge James Robart said that Zunum's win could not stand because it had not shown that the information Boeing allegedly misused was eligible for trade-secret protection.

Zunum said in a statement that it was disappointed by the decision and will appeal. A spokesperson for Boeing said that the company was grateful for the court's "careful and thorough consideration of all the evidence at trial to reach this decision."

Seattle-area startup Zunum was founded in 2013 to develop small electric commuter aircraft that can travel up to 1,500 miles. Boeing's venture capital arm invested $5 million in Zunum in 2017.

Zunum said in its 2020 lawsuit that it planned to begin selling its aircraft in 2022 until it was "forced to halt its development program due to Boeing-caused capital starvation." The complaint said that Boeing developed its own hybrid commuter aircraft using Zunum's trade secrets.

A federal jury in May awarded Zunum nearly $81.2 million from Boeing for trade secret theft and $11.6 for tortious interference, but reduced the total award to $72 million based on damages that Zunum could have mitigated. Zunum asked the court in June to multiply the award based on Boeing's alleged misconduct, while Boeing asked to overturn the verdict.

Robart said on Wednesday that the award was unjustified because Zunum had not sufficiently identified its secrets or demonstrated that they derived value from being kept secret.

The case is Zunum Aero Inc v. Boeing Co, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, No. 2:21-cv-00896.