The Situation

In 2020, Appian, a publicly traded enterprise software developer, discovered that its competitor Pegasystems had engaged in an elaborate scheme of corporate espionage to misappropriate Appian’s trade secrets..

The Claim

Appian immediately turned to Holmes Costin & Marcus to investigate potential claims. In May 2020, we filed a Complaint on Appian’s behalf in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court alleging violations of Virginia’s Uniform Trade Secrets and Computer Crimes Acts. We alleged that Pegasystems secretly hired a developer who had access to Appian’s software environment under a government contract. Pegasystems then paid the developer to misuse that access to steal Appian’s trade secrets and confidential documentation for Pegasystems’ use in improving its own software and in marketing against Appian.

The Work

For over a year, HCM outmaneuvered Pegasystems’ legal counsel, repeatedly defeating their attempts to have the case dismissed as time-barred and to deny Appian meaningful discovery of the evidence it needed to prove its case. As discovery wore on and trial approached, HCM partnered with a larger New York-based firm, combining its deep bench with HCM’s knowledge of the issues and unmatched understanding of Virginia courts. This was an extraordinarily intense case involving extensive discovery and two back-to-back trials—a two-week trial on the statute of limitations defense, followed almost immediately by a nearly eight-week trial on the merits of Appian’s claims. HCM’s ability to collaborate effectively with a larger firm was critical to the case’s success. HCM’s command of Virginia's unique rules and procedures proved integral in developing strategy throughout. For example, Appian demanded a jury trial on the statute of limitations defense—exercising a right that is unique to Virginia but seldom invoked.

The Results

After defeating the statute of limitations defense, the evidence our legal team presented at the merits trial in the spring of 2022 exposed shocking conduct by Pegasystems’ senior leadership—including using fake names and fake companies to gain access to Appian’s secured system. The stakes were high because of the massive scale and scope of the trade secrets misappropriation at issue. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury reached a verdict for Appian and awarded it $2.036 billion in damages, finding violations of the Trade Secrets and Computer Crimes Acts. This is believed to be the largest verdict in the history of Virginia. The court later entered final judgment in the case, confirming the jury award and adding to it all of Appian’s legal feess.

View the release here.