On December 3, 2024, a U.S District Court for the District of Massachusetts jury awarded Plaintiff Insulet Corporation $452 million in compensatory and punitive damages after finding Defendants willfully misappropriated Insulet’s trade secrets. Insulet Corp. v. EOFlow Co. Ltd., et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-11780 (D. Mass.)

Insulet is a manufacturer of tubeless insulin pump patches with its Omnipod brand of products. Insulet Omnipod products have been FDA approved since 2005. Defendant is a competitor of Insulet, manufacturing its own line of insulin pump patches, first with the EOPatch in 2011 and then the EOPatch 2 in 2018. 

In its complaint, Insulet claimed that the original patch Defendant developed starting in 2011 employed “different pumping technology to deliver insulin,” and “early prototypes of [Defendant’s] product … looked nothing like Insulet’s Omnipod products.” But, in 2018, only two years after Defendant hired multiple former Insulet senior executives and other employees and entered into a joint development and collaboration contract with Insulet’s primary contract manufacturer, Defendant launched a redesigned version of its product that allegedly was nearly identical in look and function to Insulet’s Omnipod products.

Insulet alleged that through these actions, Defendants willfully and maliciously misappropriated Insulet’s trade secrets. Specifically, the former employees that had access to and knowledge of Insulet’s trade secrets as a result of their positions at Insulet allegedly stole Insulet’s trade secrets and Defendant allegedly misappropriated them by hiring those former employees. Doing so allegedly allowed “[Defendant] to use the Insulet Trade Secrets to design the EOPatch as an Omnipod clone and implement the manufacturing and commercialization processes for the EOPatch that each [Insulet employee] knew would work as it did for the Omnipod product.” According to Insulet, this was further compounded by Defendant’s contract with Insulet’s primary contract manufacturer as the contract manufacturer had access to Insulet’s design specifications which further allowed Defendant to copy the Omnipod products.

After a four-week trial, the jury found that all but one defendant misappropriated Insulet’s trade secrets, and at least some of the misappropriation was willful and malicious. It then awarded Insulet $170 million in compensatory damages and an additional $282 million in exemplary damages for willful and malicious misappropriation, for a total damages award of $452 million.

The sheer size of this award is in line with a recent trend we have seen in the trade secret misappropriation arena. 

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Photo of Steven J. Pearlman Steven J. Pearlman

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, where he is Head of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group.

Employment, Whistleblower, Restrictive Covenant and Trade Secret Practice.

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, where he is Head of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group.

Employment, Whistleblower, Restrictive Covenant and Trade Secret Practice. Steven’s national practice focuses on defending companies in federal and state courts and arbitration against claims of: discrimination, retaliation and harassment, including claims brought by high-level executives; whistleblower retaliation; restrictive covenant violations; theft of trade secrets; and wage-and-hour violations (including class, collective and PAGA actions).

Illustrating his versatility, Steven has successfully handled bench and jury trials in multiple jurisdictions (e.g., Illinois, California, Florida and Texas); defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the federal courts in Chicago; and prevailed following his oral arguments before the Seventh Circuit and state appellate courts. Steven brings his litigation experience to bear in counseling clients to minimize risk and avoid or prepare for success in litigation.

Investigations. Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has testified in federal court. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Thought Leadership and Accolades. Steven was named Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He was also named as One of the Top 10 Impactful Labor & Employment Lawyers in Illinois for 2023 by Business Today. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Chambers describes Steven as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive,” a “strong advocate,” and an “expert in his field.” Chambers also reports that “He is someone who can navigate the twists and turns of litigation without difficulty. Steven is great with brief-writing, crafting arguments, and making sure the client is always happy.”

Steven was 1 of 12 individuals selected by Compliance Week as a “Top Mind.” Earlier in his career, he was 1 of 5 U.S. lawyers selected by Law360 as a “Rising Star Under 40” in the area of employment law and 1 of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for “Distinguished Legal Writing.”

Steven was appointed to Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board and selected as a Contributor to Forbes.com. He has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, and is often quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts of appeal. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois in employment litigation matters. He has presented with the Solicitor of the DOL, the Acting Chair of the EEOC, an EEOC Commissioner, Legal Counsel to the EEOC, and heads of the SEC, CFTC and OSHA whistleblower programs. He is also a member of the Sedona Conference, focusing on trade secret matters.

In 2024, Steven received the Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Photo of Nicole Sockett Nicole Sockett

Nicole Sockett is an associate in the Litigation Department.

Nicole earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her B.S. in Biology from Haverford College. While at Columbia, Nicole interned and was a teaching assistant at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, helping to…

Nicole Sockett is an associate in the Litigation Department.

Nicole earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her B.S. in Biology from Haverford College. While at Columbia, Nicole interned and was a teaching assistant at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, helping to provide pro bono legal services to local artists and arts organizations. She was also a member of the Environmental Law Clinic and American Intellectual Property Law Association Moot Court.