Walmart trial overview:
- Who: Walmart faces a new trial in a lawsuit brought by Zest Labs.
- why: In its application for attorneys’ fees after the previous trial, Walmart discovered that it had received notice that Zest was applying for a patent for its food freshness technology before the patent application was published.
- where: The Walmart judgment and Walmart’s new trial will be held in federal court in Arkansas.
Walmart will face a new trial in a lawsuit it faces from Zest Labs over its store’s food freshness technology.
A federal jury previously awarded Zest $115 million in damages after finding that Walmart received a demonstration of startup Zest’s technology and used it in Walmart’s Eden System. According to the law 360.
Eden’s system “includes attaching tracking devices to produce as it moves between farms, distribution centers, and stores, and using that data to predict the exact day the food will spoil,” Law360 said. The report said the system is expected to save Walmart $15 million. Next 10 years.
But after the Walmart grocery case, Zest’s lawyers asked for $46 million in fees, in which Walmart filed a patent for its grocery freshness technology before the patent application was published. I discovered that Zest had received a notification that it was scheduled.
New evidence likely would have resulted in a different verdict, the judge wrote.
U.S. District Judge James M. Moody ruled that the newly discovered evidence was important to the previously completed Walmart Grocery Trial.
“Regardless of the motive, the court’s failure to find that Zest had pre-publication notice of Walmart’s patent application is significant and not merely cumulative or impeachable,” Moody said of the Walmart ruling. It was recognized as such.” “After considering the post-trial findings and presiding over the trial, the court determined that this evidence would likely result in a different outcome at trial.”
Moody agreed to a new trial for Wal-Mart while being advised of Wal-Mart’s request for sanctions and attorneys’ fees. Walmart also was granted a motion to dismiss and a motion to unseal the attached briefs, stating that the documents “contain no privileged material and there is no compelling reason to override the public’s right to access the documents.” ” was written.
Walmart incorrectly classified delivery drivers who provide delivery services to the company through its Spark Driver program as independent contractors when they should have been classified as employees. recent class action lawsuits claims.
Have you seen Walmart’s grocery freshness technology in action? Let us know in the comments.
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