Givaudan Fragrances Corp. lost its $80 million suit against a former executive after a New Jersey federal jury ruled he did not steal the trade secrets to 650 of its fragrances and share them with the Givaudan competitor that wooed him away.
In a case that has been billed as the largest New Jersey has ever seen regarding misappropriation of trade secrets, the federal jury ruled James Krivda, Givaudan’s former vice president over its perfumery department, did not violate a confidentiality provision in his employment contract when he left the fragrance maker for competitor Mane USA in April 2008.