HOUSTON, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- A Houston state district court juryrejected a multi-million-dollar trade secrets lawsuit by National OilwellVarco (NYSE: NOV) and cleared four former employees and their currentemployer, A&B Valve and Piping Systems, LP, after a four-week-trial.
The jury found Wednesday that A&B and the employees -- Connie Dobson,Martin Willmore, Tara Kolar and Lina Urbanek -- did not use trade secrets,violate any fiduciary duty to NOV, misappropriate trade secrets, or breachcontracts or nondisclosure agreements when they left the company for betterpaying jobs at A&B, a competing oilfield supply company, in October 2006. A&Bwas cleared of tortiously interfering with NOV's nondisclosure agreements.
A&B and its employees are represented by attorneys Joe Ahmad and JohnZavitsanos of Ahmad Zavitsanos & Anaipakos, P.C., in Houston; Paul Aronowitz;Boris Hidalgo and Mano DeAyala of Thompson & Knight LLP, in Houston; and TomWright, Harvey Brown, Russ Hollenbeck, and Brad Snead of Wright, Brown &Close, LLP, in Houston.
NOV filed the suit in December 2006, seeking multi-million-dollar damages,including attorneys' fees, punitive damages, and an injunction to prohibit A&BValve and the employees from competing against NOV with more than 90companies. NOV further sought to have the former employees forfeit salariesthey had earned since joining A&B.
Mr. Ahmad stated, 'Had A&B not prevailed, the rights of 'at-will'employees in Texas would have been endangered by this lawsuit. In effect, NOVwas attempting to convert a standard nondisclosure agreement into a lifetimenoncompetition agreement with no geographic limitations. Ironically, underTexas law, an actual noncompetition agreement must be limited both as to timeand geographic scope in order to be enforceable.'
A&B successfully argued that the information claimed by NOV to beconfidential was in the public domain. In A&B's view, the case was of greatimportance, not only for the continued viability of A&B, but also because ofthe novel and aggressive position taken regarding the types of informationthat would be trade secrets under Texas law.
Mr. Aronowitz stated, 'This lawsuit apparently was intended to chill thehot labor market for experienced sales personnel in the brimming oil fieldsupply business. It seems to have been intended as a shot across the bow ofany competitor who would try to hire their employees. The winners here are notonly our clients, but also other oilfield service company employees who canseek better employment without fearing frivolous and potentially crushinglawsuits.'
NOV is represented by J.D. Page; Elliot Tucker and Roy Barnes, of Tucker,Vaughan, Gardner & Barnes, P.C. in Houston; and Don Jackson and Eileen O'Neillof Ware, Jackson, Lee & Chambers, L.L.P. in Houston.
The case is 'National Oilwell Varco, L.P. v. A&B Bolt & Supply, Inc. a/k/aA&B Valve and Piping Systems; et al,' (Cause No. 2006-79749, in the 113thJudicial District, Harris County, Texas).
Attorney Contact: John Zavitsanos, Ahmad Zavitsanos & Anaipakos, P.C.,713-655-1101.
Media Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Ahmad Zavitsanos &Anaipakos, P.C., 281-362-1411 or 281-703-6000.
SOURCE Ahmad Zavitsanos & Anaipakos, P.C.
