LOG-NET prevails in DHL lawsuit

Supply chain software company awarded damages of $14.4 million.    A jury has awarded LOG-NET, a New Jersey-based supply chain software company, $14.4 million in damages as a result of litigation with the international shipping company DHL.
    Judge Michael Shipp said the lawsuit arose from the end of a business relationship between DHL and LOG-NET.
    “LOG-NET provided DHL with certain supply chain management software that allowed DHL and its customers to process and monitor international shipping transactions from the point where goods are manufactured until the time that they are placed on store shelves,” explained Shipp in his instructions to the jury. “In 2009, DHL decided to replace LOG-NET as its software vendor with another company, GT Nexus.” 
   GT Nexus was acquired by Infor in 2015.
   Shipp said the claims and counterclaims in the case arose from the transition of DHL’s customers from LOG-NET to GT Nexus. Each company claimed the other breached their license agreement and covenant of good faith and fair dealing implicit in that agreement.
    DHL filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Jersey against LOG-NET in 2012, and LOG-NET made counterclaims against DHL. A jury trial was held this month, from July 9 through July 20, when the verdict was returned.
   DHL did not prevail in its claims against LOG-NET. The jury found DHL “breached the implied covenant good faith and fair dealing in connection with the parties’ license agreement.” The jury also found DHL “infringed a valid copyright owned by LOG-NET.”
   It did not rule in LOG-NET’s favor on some other counterclaims. (Air Express International d/b/a/ DHL Global Forwarding Corp. v. LOG-NET. U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. 12-cv-01732. July 20.) DHL acquired Air Express International in 1999.
    LOG-NET said in a press release that an injunction “preventing LOG-NET from removing and protecting its intellectual property” will be lifted.
    John Motley, the chief executive officer and founder of LOG-NET, chose to portray the litigation as a David versus Goliath affair. “Entrepreneurship and excellence in technology innovation is extremely hard work,” he said in a statement. “Given that most technology start-ups fail, having an entity like DHL with 470,000 employees engage in troubling and unfair practices under the contract made for some really long days. I am so proud of the team at LOG-NET who were not distracted from providing technical innovation and excellence to our customers during the pendency of the case.”
    DHL said it “does not comment on ongoing litigation.”