Ennis Announces Verdict in Lawsuit Against Wright Printing Company
14 Abril 2023 - 5:29PM
Business Wire
(NYSE: EBF) On April 12, 2023, a Nebraska jury rendered a
unanimous verdict against Wright Printing Company, its owner, Mark
Wright, and CEO Mardra Sikora for a total of $5 million in actual
and punitive damages. The lawsuit was filed by Crabar/GBF, Inc., a
subsidiary of Ennis, Inc., which purchased Wright Printing
Company’s Folder Express and Progress Publications folder
businesses for $15 million in 2013.
The jury found that Wright Printing Company, Mark Wright and
Mardra Sikora misappropriated confidential information and trade
secrets regarding customer lists, customer sales data and
specifications regarding Crabar’s entire Folder Express and
Progress Publications custom folder line to launch competing folder
brands called Pocket Folders Fast and Bandfolder Press. Wright
Printing Company launched the competing business in the same
facility that Crabar had recently vacated after Mark Wright told
Crabar that he was selling the building and Crabar had to
vacate.
Efforts to duplicate the Folder Express and Progress
Publications product lines were assisted by the theft of detailed
product specifications, manufacturing references and files, as well
as folder templates. Former Folders Express employee Alexandra
Kohlhaas took an external hard drive when she left Folders Express
to go back to work for Wright Printing Company and its startup
folder businesses in 2016. When Wright Printing Company’s prepress
manager, Jamie Fredrickson, received a copy of a spreadsheet from
Kohlhass containing the manufacturing specifications for every
Folder Express and Progress Publications folder design, she
forwarded it to Mark Wright and Mardra Sikora with her observation
that the spreadsheet was “incredibly useful.” Ultimately, Wright
Printing Company duplicated all of the Folder Express and Progress
Publications top-selling products. They then launched a direct
marketing campaign targeted at the top customers of Folder Express
and Progress Publications that Mark Wright and Mardra Sikora culled
from the confidential customer data that Wright Printing Company
had sold to Crabar with a covenant never to use in the future.
After a two-week trial, the jury unanimously found in favor of
the Ennis subsidiary on all counts as to all defendants. In
addition to awarding Crabar more than $3.75 million in actual
damages, the jury assessed more than $1.25 million in punitive
damages among Mark Wright, Mardra Sikora, Jamie Fredrickson and
Alexandra Kohlhass for what the jury found to be clear and
convincing evidence of willful and malicious misappropriation of
trade secrets. As requested by Ennis’ representative at trial, the
jury apportioned only modest amounts against the employees
Fredrickson and Kohlhass to impose accountability for their
wrongdoing without imposing extreme hardship for actions taken for
the benefit of Wright Printing Company and Mark Wright.
Ennis, Inc. CEO, Keith Walters, provided the following comment
on the jury’s verdict.
The jury's verdict that defendants willfully and maliciously
misappropriated our trade secret information affirms the importance
of Ennis’ property rights. Ennis filed this lawsuit because it owes
its shareholders a duty to protect their investment and to
recapture the substantial losses caused by defendants'
misappropriation of confidential information to gain an unfair
advantage in the market. Ennis is satisfied that the jury’s verdict
is a just outcome for it and its shareholders.
For a more detailed version of this press release, please visit
https://www.ennis.com/2023/04/14/ennis-announces-verdict-in-lawsuit-against-wright-printing-company/
About Ennis
Founded in 1909, the Company is one of the largest private-label
printed business product suppliers in the United States.
Headquartered in Midlothian, Texas, Ennis has production and
distribution facilities strategically located throughout the USA to
serve the Company’s national network of distributors. Ennis
manufactures and sells business forms, other printed business
products, printed and electronic media, integrated forms and
labels, presentation products, flex-o-graphic printing, advertising
specialties and Post-it® Notes, internal bank forms, plastic cards,
secure and negotiable documents, specialty packaging, direct mail,
envelopes, tags and labels and other custom products. For more
information, visit www.ennis.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230414005441/en/
Mr. Keith S. Walters, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and
President Mr. Dan Gus, General Counsel and Secretary
Ennis, Inc. Phone: (972) 775-9801 Fax: (972) 775-9820
www.ennis.com
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