Walmart Hit With $223 Million Verdict at Trade Secrets Trial (2)

Walmart Inc. must pay $222.7 million for willfully and maliciously stealing trade secrets from a company specializing in reducing fresh food waste, an Arkansas federal jury said.

Zest Labs Inc. established that Walmart abused information the retail giant had gleaned from years of discussion and preparation to deploy Zest’s technology before abruptly ending trial runs in 2017, according to a jury verdict entered Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. After a 12-day trial that started April 28, the jurors awarded Zest $72.7 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages.

Walmart escaped ...