Judge denies motion to dismiss in Dice v. Bold

Source:
02/22/2012

BAY CITY, Mich.—A federal judge has denied a motion by Bold Technologies to dismiss a claim filed against it by Dice Corp. in the ongoing trade dispute between the providers of central station automation platforms.

Michigan-based Dice sued its competitor in federal court last August, alleging that Colorado-based Bold unlawfully accessed Dice's proprietary software with the help of Amy Condon, a former Dice engineer hired by Bold.

Dice, which is seeking damages and compensation, says it spent more than $5 million developing the software that it says Bold misappropriated. Bold has rejected Dice's claims, calling the lawsuit "baseless."

On Jan. 30, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Ludington denied Bold's motion to dismiss Dice's claim that Bold violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Bold maintained that in order for Dice to show that it had sustained a loss under the terms of the act, Dice needed to have experienced an interruption of service. Ludington disagreed and ruled against Bold.

On Nov. 29, Ludington dismissed three claims that Dice had filed in an amended complaint: for unjust enrichment, conversion (civil as opposed to criminal theft), and a request for statutory damages, costs and attorney's fees related to a copyright infringement count.

Four of Dice's claims remain in the lawsuit: that Bold violated the Michigan Uniform Trade Secret Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and that it infringed on Dice's copyrights by creating unauthorized derivative works.

A settlement conference scheduled for Jan. 31 was canceled, according to records from the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Bold filed an answer to Dice's second amended complaint on Feb. 13.

Craig Horn, an attorney representing Dice, told Security Systems News last month that depositions were scheduled during February with Bold officials in Colorado and Dice officials in Michigan. Horn and David McDaniel, an attorney for Bold, did not return calls for comment on the case.