Nearly $740 million awarded after court adds prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees
Judge David A. Canales of the 73rd Judicial District Court of Bexar County, Texas, has entered final judgment in favor of Susman Godfrey LLP client HouseCanary in its lawsuit against Quicken Loans affiliate Amrock, Inc., formerly known as Title Source, Inc. The ruling confirmed the $706 million awarded to HouseCanary by a jury in March and added $29 million in prejudgment interest and $4.5 million in attorneys’ fees. That brings the total awarded to nearly $740 million. Interest will accrue on the judgment at a rate of nearly $37 million a year.
“We are pleased, but not surprised, that the court has entered final judgment for HouseCanary and affirmed the jury’s verdict, which had resolved every disputed issue in HouseCanary’s favor,” said Susman Godfrey partner Max L. Tribble, who served as lead trial counsel to HouseCanary. “This was a clear case of trade secret misappropriation, fraudulent conduct and breach of contract. The jury and now the court have each validated what HouseCanary has said since discovering Title Source/Amrock’s misappropriation.”
HouseCanary filed a lawsuit in 2017 against Title Source/Amrock alleging the Detroit-based affiliate of Quicken Loans misappropriated HouseCanary’s trade secrets. This was in response to a suit from Title Source/Amrock against HouseCanary claiming breach of contract.
During a seven-week trial, the Susman Godfrey team argued that Title Source/Amrock had stolen HouseCanary’s proprietary software and used it to become a competitor. The jury ultimately sided with HouseCanary on its claims and awarded more than $235 million in actual damages and $470.8 million in punitive damages.
“This was a hard-fought trial over many weeks in which the jury heard substantial evidence of Title Source’s actions,” said Kalpana Srinivasan, a Susman Godfrey partner and co-lead counsel to HouseCanary.
In addition to Tribble and Srinivasan, the Susman Godfrey trial team included partner Matthew Behncke and associates Elisha Barron and Rocco Magni.
Ricardo Cedillo of Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza tried the case with Susman Godfrey.
