Southwestern Energy Production Co. v. Berry-Helfand

In this trade-secret misappropriation case, a jury found an oil-and-gas operator misused proprietary information acquired under a confidentiality agreement and profited handsomely from its use. The trade secrets at issue purported to identify ten localized areas in East Texas oil-and-gas formations offering optimized production from both a relatively untapped geologic reservoir and deeper strata with more established production (multiple stacked-pay potential). The jury valued the trade-secret information at $11,445 million and awarded that amount as both tort damages for misappropriation and…