John Sanders and Chase Cooper Discuss Win for Power Standard LLC with Texas Lawyer

Winston & Strawn partners John Sanders and Chase Cooper were quoted in a Texas Lawyer article following their win secured on behalf of Power Standard LLC in a lawsuit seeking $150 million in alleged damages filed by BHI Energy I Power Services LLC. U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay dismissed the lawsuit, which alleged unfair business practices based on the decision of several at-will BHI employees to quit their jobs and work for Power Standard. BHI brought claims for tortious interference with contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, conspiracy, conversion and other causes of action, claiming that the loss of personnel caused it to lose business because it could no longer meet customer needs.

The principal argument for dismissal was that even after a year of extensive discovery, which consisted of nearly 20 depositions, 67,000 pages of document production, three reports by defendants’ trade secrets expert, and cross-motions to compel, BHI not only had no evidence from which a jury could reasonably calculate its damages but also had not even articulated any theory or model of damages. On August 29, 2024, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay dismissed all of BHI’s claims with prejudice.

John told Texas Lawyer, “Rather than focus its efforts on employee retention and customer satisfaction, BHI used the federal court system to wage a two-year campaign to punish Power Standard for hiring its former employees who voluntarily chose to change jobs. But BHI was unable to show any legitimate harm.”

“We knew all along that our clients were in the right, and we’re very pleased that they can get on with their business without the burden and expense of this vexatious litigation,” Chase added.

Read the full article.