Alight Solutions Loses ‘Foolhardy’ Trade Secrets Discovery Bid

A former vice president of global sales for Alight Solutions LLC won’t have to turn over her personal electronic devices for forensic examination in a trade secrets case, a federal court in Illinois ruled, rebuking the company for its “foolhardy and improper mode of proceeding.”

Alight alleges that Susan Thomson breached her non-competition agreements by going to work for its competitor Embold Health. Alight seeks to block the alleged misappropriation of its trade secrets regarding sales strategies and business plans for its human resource services and software.

Late in the afternoon on the day discovery was scheduled to close, Alight asked the court to indefinitely extend discovery and to order Thomson to turn over her cellphone, tablet, laptop, and desktop for a third-party forensic inspection.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday denied Alight’s motion.

“First, it has to be said that Alight’s motion is at least somewhat audacious as it completely ignores the fact that discovery was set to close a couple of hours after it was filed,” after discovery had already been extended multiple times, the court said.

The company “has failed to come to grips with” federal civil procedure rules and case law about reopening discovery and last-minute motions to compel, the court said.

The third-party forensic specialist would see Thomson’s financial information, medical information, and information relating to her family on her devices, the court noted. Such an examination “has to be regarded as tantamount to allowing a stranger to ransack a litigant’s home,” if not more intrusive, the court said.

Such an intrusion on Thomson’s privacy isn’t warranted in this “run-of-the-mill breach of a non-compete clause case,” Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole said. And regarding Alight’s trade secrets claims, the company hasn’t been able to articulate how and where Embold competes with it in the healthcare navigation business, Cole added.

Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP represents Alight. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP represents Thomson. Bass, Berry & Sims PLC represents Embold. Roetzel & Andress LPA also represents both defendants.

The case is Alight Solutions LLC v. Thomson, N.D. Ill., No. 1:20-cv-03043, 11/3/21.