Warrior Sports announced that a Baltimore, MD court recently issued an injunction prohibiting defendants, Under Armour, Neal Goldman, Jenny Levy, and Vertical Lax, Inc. from utilizing Warrior confidential documents and related information in their possession. Through its discovery process, Warrior found its “Line Plan” as well as other confidential documents on Under Armour’s computer system.
The injunction arises out of a lawsuit filed in April alleging that former Warrior employees Goldman and Levy, who are currently employed by Under Armour and its licensee, Vertical Lax, respectively, breached their employment agreements with Warrior. The new employment positions for Goldman and Levy coincide with Under Armour’s announced effort to enter the lacrosse equipment market. The pending lawsuit charges the defendants with wrongful appropriation of confidential information and trade secrets, intentional interference with business relationships, breach of employment agreement, unfair competition, and violation of Maryland’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
“We fully support free and fair competition but need to be vigilant in protecting our innovation and valuable intellectual property. Confidential documents such as the Warrior Lacrosse Line Plan are vital and comprehensive blueprints on our lacrosse business that have been developed and refined during our significant history serving the market,” said Greg Cattrano, Warrior’s General Manager of Lacrosse. “The ‘Line Plan’ contains such strategic and confidential information as projected volumes, factory cost information, and product margins”, added Cattrano.
Dave Morrow, Warrior Sports founder and president, said, “Unfortunately, this lawsuit can’t undo what has been done, but it can at least hold those responsible at Under Armour and its licensee accountable. The idea that our Line Plan, the culmination of 20 years of financial resources, sweat and development strategy, could simply be ‘cut and pasted’ into Under Armour’s first volley into the lacrosse equipment market, is more than just disturbing: it’s an absolute injustice at the hands of former employees whom we trusted, and a would-be competitor.”
In addition, Warrior has more recently brought a second lawsuit against Under Armour alleging patent infringement. Barry Marenberg, a recognized leader in the lacrosse industry, in a recent LAXAllStars.com post said, “While many people may shake their head and clamor over how litigious the world is, it is important to understand that a great deal of time and money goes into the research and development that leads to the innovations and unique aspects of the awesome lacrosse equipment we all know and love. I always applaud innovators who are aggressive in protecting their valuable intellectual property.”
In response to news of the lawsuit, Under Armour said in a statement, “
“While we do not comment on the details of specific litigation, we are hopeful that we can work together to resolve our fundamentally divergent views on this matter. Our on-field authenticity and long-term leadership in the athletic performance space speaks for itself. Under Armour will continue to pursue the lacrosse market, offering game-changing product innovation for all lacrosse athletes.”
