The former head of materials Simon Lancaster (Simon Lancaster) was recently sued by Apple for allegedly leaking to the media the trade secrets of the “Project X” project and undisclosed product information.In the latest legal documents disclosed, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office has launched a public criminal investigation against Lancaster on Apple’s claims.
Another legal process in the Apple vs. Lancaster case is scheduled to open on November 18, 2021. Prior to this, new public court documents seen by 9to5Mac revealed new details:
On the second day of the preliminary case management meeting between the parties, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office notified Lancaster’s lawyer for the first time that he was the subject of a criminal investigation for alleged theft of trade secrets. (Scott R. Raber’s statement of October 7, 2021 (“Raber Decl.”), paragraphs 4-5; Olmos Decl., paragraph 2).
These criminal investigations included law enforcement officers issuing search warrants on Lancaster’s online account and his two computers. It is also learned that some online accounts of Lancaster have been searched at least four times before this execution (according to Olmos Decl., ∥3-4). The search warrants also required evidence to be obtained from information on two computers used by Lancaster. The Ex.A. search warrant application claims that there are probable reasons to believe that the information sought is stolen or corrupted, or proves the commission of a felony. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office also appointed a senior attorney for the case. (Olmos Decl., ¶3)
Basically, Lancaster and his lawyers believe that continuing the civil lawsuit filed by Apple against him during the criminal investigation may hinder his Fifth Amendment rights.
The main consideration for the suspension motion is the defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights and whether these rights “will be affected by the discovery and disclosure required in civil litigation.” “Fed. Ins. Co. v. Laney, 2013 WL 594267, at *3 (ND Cal. Feb. 14, 2013). If like this, the problems in the two procedures are basically the same, the defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights” Will be affected”.
Although Lancaster has previously stated that he is not guilty of the main charges against Apple, the situation is still quite messy, because he did admit to talking to the media and demanding favorable coverage of a startup he invested in.
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