A Wisconsin jury ruled in favor of Verona, Wis.-based Epic in a lawsuit alleging Mumbai, India-based Tata Consultancy Services stole trade secrets and confidential information to support its competing healthcare software product, reports Reuters.
Epic filed a lawsuit against Tata Consultancy Services on Oct. 31, 2014, and the federal trial started April 4, 2016, in Madison, Wis. The lawsuit alleges Tata employees hired to help install Epic's EHR at a Portland, Ore.-based Kaiser Permanente facility downloaded nearly 6,500 documents containing information that could be used to benefit Tata's own hospital management software called Med Mantra. The downloaded documents were allegedly not related to the employees' job responsibilities.
On Friday, the jury ruled in Epic's favor on seven claims, including breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition, and awarded the EHR vendor $240 million in compensatory damages and $700 million in punitive damages, according to the report.
Tata plans to appeal the decision. "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," according to a Tata statement. "The company did not misuse or derive any benefit from downloaded documents from Epic System's user-web portal. TCS plans to defend its position vigorously in appeals to higher courts."
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