Multimatic Wins $10 Million Verdict for Breach of Confidentiality Agreement

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Oct. 1, 2007 -- A jury in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, has awarded Markham, Ontario-based Multimatic, Inc. nearly $10 million in a verdict against Faurecia Interior Systems USA, Inc. for the breach of a confidentiality agreement.

Multimatic filed the complaint contending that Faurecia violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement that went into effect in February 2004. DaimlerChrysler awarded Faurecia the business of supplying it with dashboard- mounted instrument panels for the OEM's Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring models. On the understanding that it would be the production source, Multimatic designed and developed a cross-car beam, which Faurecia desired to use to mount the instrument panels into the vehicles' dashboards.

Before disclosing its proprietary designs for the cross-car beam, Multimatic requested the confidentiality agreement with Faurecia to protect its intellectual property and technology inherent in the designs. Faurecia signed the agreement in February 2004. In April 2005, however, Faurecia secretly took Multimatic's proprietary designs to market for bid from Multimatic competitors, thereby violating the terms of the confidentiality agreement. After receiving quotes from Multimatic's competitors on Multimatic's proprietary designs, Faurecia requested that Multimatic lower its price to produce the cross-car beam and asked Multimatic for a $200,000 entry ticket in order to do business with Faurecia.

Steven Susser, shareholder with Southfield, Mich.-based Young & Susser and Multimatic's attorney, remarked that, "In an era in which technology and intellectual property are increasingly treated as commodities, this verdict is truly a vindication for those companies that value innovation and the right to protect one's competitive advantage. Multimatic's chief competitive advantage is its innovation and intellectual property, and the jury agreed that it was not to be sold or bartered to the lowest bidder.

"Multimatic's trademarked slogan is Strength Through Technology, and that is a strength that is worth fighting for," Susser added.

Young & Susser filed a breach of contract complaint on Multimatic's behalf in June 2005. The case was tried before a jury in September 2007, with Young & Susser asking the jury for $9,981,821 for Multimatic's lost profits as the result of the breach of confidentiality agreement by Faurecia. After about only one hour, the jury awarded Multimatic the full $9,981,821 on September 19, 2007. During deliberations, the jury asked whether it could award more than Multimatic had requested.

Susser added, "This is an important and noteworthy verdict. In this case, we had a tier-two supplier fighting back on principle to protect its most precious commodity, its intellectual property. The industry should take note: Confidentiality agreements do, in fact, have teeth; and another company's intellectual property is not a commodity for sale."

A litigation boutique specializing in complex commercial disputes, Southfield, Michigan-based Young & Susser, P.C. has earned a national reputation for superior representation. With a virtually unbroken string of successful verdicts to the firm's credit, Young & Susser emphasizes an efficient, lean and aggressive litigation style. The firm represents both local and national clients, and focuses on disputes involving shareholders/partners, contracts, antitrust, patents, trade secrets and manufacturer representatives. Young & Susser has offices in Southfield and New York.