Kreisman Law Offices Professional Corporation
Conxall Corp. was the supplier of custom cables and connectors to its customer, Mine Safety Appliances Co. (MSA), the third-party defendant in this case.
MSA later provided drawings and 3-D (3-dimensional) models to the defendant ICON Systems to enable it to offer a quote and supply the same product.
The plaintiff Conxall contended that the drawings were trade secrets. ICON argued that the drawings and files contained no information that was actually secret or otherwise unknown in the industry. In furtherance of that argument, it maintained that the drawings and models were not needed to create ICON’s product, that ICON’s product was an improvement on Conxall’s product and that MSA had no duty to keep the materials confidential.
Before trial, the demand to settle the case was $4,300,000 for the damages related to the claim for breach of contract and the dissemination of the trade secrets. The court was asked to return a verdict of $13,900,000. There was no offer made by the defendant ICON.
After hearing all of the evidence, the court held in favor of both the defendants, that being ICON Systems and Mine Safety Appliances.
Conxall Corp. v. ICON Systems, LLC v. Mine Safety Appliances Co., 08 CH 15396 (Cook County, Illinois).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling breach of contract matters and business litigation for businesses small and large for more than 37 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Wheaton, Aurora, St. Charles, Elmhurst, Chicago (Lincoln Square, Chinatown), and Itasca, Ill.
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