US Court reduces damages in TCS- Epic Systems case, Company to appeal

A US appeals court has returned an appeal by Tata Consultancy Services in a trade secrets suit filed by US software firm Epic Systems against it and reduced the reduced damages to $ 140 million.

The US Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, Chicago, returned a verdict on the appeal filed by TCS NSE -0.16 %, reducing the damages award.

“The Court held that the punitive damages award of $280 million is constitutionally excessive and directed the Trial Court to reassess the punitive damages. The Court upheld the compensatory damages award of $140 million,” TCS said in its filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

TCS is exploring the options available to it, as it believes that there is no evidence of misuse of EPIC information by it. It will vigorously defend its position before the relevant court, the company said.

Epic had filed the lawsuit against TCS in 2014 alleging that the IT services company had stolen its intellectual property. In 2016, Epic won a jury award of $940 million. In 2017, the Wisconsin court judge lowered the amount of the award to $420 million to comply with caps on punitive damages in such cases. TCS had filed appeals in the higher court.

Source Link