Miss. high court to hear Eaton case

The Ohio-based Eaton Corp., which makes hydraulic aircraft pumps at a 600-employee aerospace facility in Jackson, goes before the Mississippi Supreme Court on Aug. 5 seeking reinstatement of its $1 billion trade secrets lawsuit filed against rival Frisby Aerospace, now part of Triumph Group, based near Philadelphia, Pa. In 2010, a Hinds County (Miss.) judge threw out the case, saying Eaton knew about and sanctioned secret actions by a company lawyer to influence case's initial judge in the case. (The judge was removed from the case and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.) Eaton alleges five ex-engineers took the firm’s aerospace information and gave it to their new employer, Frisby, which began competing against Eaton for military and commercial contracts. Source: The Associated Press, July 6, 2013.