US District Court Fines Sterlite Tech $96 Million Against Prysmian Group In Trade-Secrets Case

US District Court Fines Sterlite Tech $96 Million Against Prysmian Group In Trade-Secrets Case

Numerous documents were found in possession of its executives

The US District Court for the District of South Carolina has awarded $96 million (Rs.806 crore) in damages to Italy’s Prysmian Group after finding Sterlite Technologies (STL), an optic fibre manufacturer, guilty.

STL was accused of illegally possessing Prysmian's trade secrets, including customers, new products and expansion plans.

Numerous documents were found in the possession of executives at Ankit Agarwal-headed STL's global headquarters in Pune, India.

After a three-year legal battle, the verdict includes a $200,000 award against former Prysmian executive Stephen Szymanski, now working with STL.

Backed by Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group, STL plans to challenge the ruling. Recently, the company reported a loss of Rs.82 crore in Q1 FY2025 on revenue of Rs 1,140 crore.

In a statement, Prysmian said, "The jury found that Sterlite was unjustly enriched by taking Prysmian's trade secrets and awarded $96,500,000 in damages against Sterlite Technologies. It found that Stephen Szymanski had been unjustly enriched by misappropriating Prysmian's trade secrets and awarded $200,000 against Mr. (Stephen) Szymanski, personally."

Szymanski ran Prysmian's optical fiber cable business in North America and joined its competitor Sterlite in August 2020.

Andrea Pirondini, Prysmian’s North America CEO stated, “This case came down to the basic principle of right versus wrong, and we are pleased that the jury came to this decision. It was clear that we had a solid case, and the decision confirms how America looks at the protection of trade secrets."

STL’s statement to the US stock exchanges read, “We will aggressively appeal the verdict, which was not supported by evidence and testimony. STL reiterated its commitment to the US market, employees, distributors, sales agents, and customers, several of whom testified for STI in the trial".

Besides being imposed with one of the largest fines on an Indian company, the verdict may affect STL's ability to participate in the US-funded $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) project.

Meanwhile, Prysmian and STL have made significant investments in the US to capitalize on the growing broadband market.

Prysmian invested $30 million in its Jackson, Tennessee factory and undertaken a $50 million multi-year modernization project at its Claremont, North Carolina fiber facility.

On the other hand, STL announced compliance with Build America, Buy America (BABA) provisions of the US laws required for eligibility in the BEAD project. It also made a manufacturing investment of $56 million in the Palmetto Plant, inaugurated in 2023 by the Governor of South Carolina.

However, STL’s Managing Director Ankit Agarwal denied that the ruling would have any impact, stating, “We do not intend for this verdict to interrupt our plans to grow our US presence.”