Patel is the founder of Sterling Engineering Group of companies.
By Raif Karerat
An Indian American has been found liable for $5 million in punitive damages after his company was found guilty of misappropriating trade secrets and using copyrighted techniques without permission.
In total, a Texas federal jury awarded $24.5 million to the plaintiff, Suncoast Post-Tension, Ltd.
According to Law360, Co-defendant Peter Scoppa, a former manager of Suncoast’s customer relations and prospective and pending contracts, was found to have breached his contract and fiduciary duty to his former employer, which is supposedly the leading supplier of post-tensioning materials for buildings and foundations, by agreeing to be the president of PT USA, a start-up Suncoast competitor founded by co-defendants Sandeep N. Patel and his company, Sterling Engineering Group of Companies.
“Rather than enter the post-tensioning field through legitimate means, Patel and his companies Sterling and PT USA misappropriated Suncoast’s trade secrets, proprietary information, and long-existing goodwill for their benefit,” the suit states. “On at least one occasion, Patel attempted to recruit a Suncoast high-level employee to accomplish this goal.”
Jurors also found that the defendants acted with malice and disregard for the rights of others, reported the Southeast Texas Record.
Included in the award are punitive damages against Scoppa for $1 million, Patel for $5 million, Sterling for $5 million and PT USA for about $2.5 million. The jury also awarded Suncoast $8 million in compensatory damages and $3 million due to the infringement of Suncoast’s copyrights drawings.
According to Sterling’s website, Patel received his master’s degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Houston in 1986. He has introduced the “double cantilever Post-tensioned concrete, wide shallow beam system” into parking garages of high density apartment projects, which has now become a standard protocol.