Epic awarded $940 million in trade secrets case

An Indian company would pay Epic Systems $940 million under a jury verdict that says the company stole trade secrets from Epic.

But Tata Consultancy Services says it’s appealing the suit, which is still undergoing a final judgment in the Madison-based federal court. The Verona-based electronic medical records company says Tata Limited employees stole trade secrets while consulting for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, which uses Epic’s software.

One Tata employee’s account accessed 6,477 documents from several locations, Epic said in a lawsuit filed in October 2014.

The jury in the Western District Court of Wisconsin decided against Tata, awarding Epic $940 million in damages. The judge might decrease that, and Tata says it’s likely to appeal the case.

The company said in a release it “did not misuse or derive any benefit from downloaded documents” in Epic’s software, adding it plans to “defend its position vigorously” in the appeals process.

“While TCS respects the legal process, the jury’s verdict on liability and damages was unexpected as the Company believes they are unsupported by the evidence presented during the trial,” the company wrote.

Epic spokesman Eric Helsher declined comment, saying “some aspects of the case are still outstanding.”

See the Tata release

See Epic’s lawsuit