A jury has found Walmart liable for $115 million in damages for stealing trade secrets relating to tracking/routing technology for perishable goods.
The jury, in federal court in Walmart’s home state of Arkansas, found that Walmart had misappropriated and disclosed trade secrets of Zest Labs Inc. and its parent, Ecoark. Zest’s technology helps move perishable food from its point of origin to grocery shelves as fast as possible. The system uses wireless sensors to collect product data from individual pallets or cases of meat, produce or other perishable items. It monitors for temperature control and other handling parameters, analyzes delivery schedules, predicts remaining shelf life upon delivery, and suggests routing patterns to maximize shelf life.
When Walmart announced its Eden program to track food from farm to table in March 2018, Zest Labs was “surprised and concerned” that it resembled their own technology, CEO Peter Mehring said in a statement at the time. The federal jury found that Walmart “willfully and maliciously” stole Zest’s trade secrets and failed to comply with a written contract. The verdict includes $65 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
“We are happy that we had our day in court and that the jury found that Walmart misappropriated our trade secrets and breached the agreement between the parties,” Ecoark CEO Randy May said in a statement.
Walmart called the verdict “excessive” and vowed to appeal.
