LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A California Superior Court jury has found defendants Thai Union International, Inc., Empress International, Inc. and Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods (collectively "Thai Union"), as well as Bryan Rosenberg and Brenden Beck (former employees of Contessa Premium Foods, Inc.) liable in connection with a scheme to steal trade secrets and compete unfairly with Contessa in the sale of frozen food products in the United States.
The case of Contessa Premium Foods, Inc. v. Bryan Rosenberg et al. (BC 347105) dates back to 2005 when, without Contessa's knowledge, Thai Union began interviewing several key Contessa sales executives. The jury found that Thai Union ultimately conspired with two of the highest-ranking sales executives, defendants Bryan Rosenberg and Brenden Beck, to misappropriate Contessa's valuable trade secrets, defraud Contessa and take Contessa's existing as well as anticipated customers. The jury also found that Rosenberg and Beck breached their fiduciary duty while employed by Contessa and did so with malice, oppression or fraud. The jury was unanimous in its determination that Rosenberg and Thai Union engaged in fraud by concealment resulting in significant damages to Contessa. Contessa was represented in this case by the Los Angeles office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP.
On September 25, 2008, Contessa was awarded compensatory damages of approximately $2.8 million. The following day, September 26, the jury came back with punitive damages against Thai Union for another $1.5 million and against Rosenberg for another $200,000, making the total damages awarded to Contessa $4.5 million. In addition, Contessa is legally entitled to recover its attorney's fees and costs as well as interest on the damages in this case. A copy of the complete "Special Verdict" rendered by the California Superior Court jury may be found at http://trade.contessa.com/HTMLDocuments/Verdict20080925.pdf.
"This is a complete vindication for Contessa, our employees and, most importantly, our customers who supported us through all of this," said Gregory J. Morrow, Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Contessa Premium Foods, Inc. "The jury's verdict upholds Contessa's exclusive right to its very valuable trade secrets and sends an undeniable message that the fraud and obvious wrongdoing on the part of defendants in this case will never be tolerated."
ABOUT CONTESSA PREMIUM FOODS, INC. -- Contessa has long been recognized as a leader in the development of innovative high-quality frozen foods. Contessa's extensive product portfolio includes a variety of value-added seafood, convenience meals, gourmet stir-fry vegetables and more. Contessa imports, processes and distributes its high quality products throughout North America, Europe and Asia. These premium Contessa products are marketed through a broad range of retail, club, food service and private label channels. Contessa leads the industry by combining innovation and convenience with its unmatched standards for consistent quality. Contessa has received international acclaim by food groups as well as consumers and has been touted as a leader by government agencies and non-governmental organizations alike. As a provider of "America's Favorite Shrimp(R)" Contessa remains one of the top-selling supermarket brands in the country.
