SS&C Technologies secures $44m trade secrets win

A US jury has awarded financial technology company SS&C Technologies $44 million in damages, after finding that a rival misappropriated its trade secrets.

SS&C  announced on Monday, April 29, that a jury at the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, found Clearwater Analytics liable for theft of trade secrets. As part of the $44 million in damages, the jury awarded $28 million in punitive damages.

Back in 2015, SS&C accused Clearwater of misappropriating and using SS&C’s trade secrets by hiring an SS&C employee.

Additionally, SS&C filed a suit in Connecticut against Clearwater and another ex-employee, whose alleged misappropriation was only discovered as a result of SS&C’s investigation into the Cook County case.

According to the claim filed in Connecticut, the former employee placed highly confidential information and data on a variety of USBs, most of which were personal storage devices.

In the last month of his employment with SS&C, the manager allegedly connected at least six and as many as sixteen separate external storage devices to his SS&C laptop.

Bill Stone, SS&C chief executive, said: “After three and one-half years the US justice system once again punishes bad behaviour. We spent a lot of money and the case took lots of time.  All of us find it gratifying that justice was done.”

The judgment remains subject to post-trial motions and appeal.

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