Federal Judge Sides With Boeing

A federal judge agreed with Boeing’s challenges of a jury verdict and nullified the $72 million awarded by the jury to Zunum Aero.

Zunum, a Seattle aviation startup, was attempting to develop a hybrid electric airplane and in 2017 entered a partnership with Boeing, where Boeing advanced Zunum $9 million in loans. The startup was unable to gain any traction and ended up suspending its operations in 2019.

Zunum then took Boeing to court, alleging that Boeing misappropriated Zunum’s trade secrets and interfered in its efforts to obain additional investment funding from Safran, another aerospace company. At the end of an 8-day trial  in May the jury sided with Zunum and awarded it the judgment. Boeing immediately challenged the verdict and District Judge James Robart reviewed the case.

Judge Robart wrote that Zunum didn’t provide enough evidence that the information Zunum shared with Boeing about its technology could truly be considered trade secrets. Robart also said that Zunum did not provide enough evidence that Zunum had any valid business expectations with Safran and therefore did not suffer harm due to interference by Boeing. Robart also noted that challenges to jury verdicts must meet very high standards, meaning that “the evidence permits only one reasonable conclusion, and that conclusion is contrary to that of the jury.”

For the present, Robart also ruled that Zunum still must repay Boeing the $9 million in loans plus interest.

FMI:  www.boeing.com/