Andrews Kurth LLP recently secured a significant verdict for Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy in a trade secret and computer fraud case against a former employee.

Devon Energy was represented by Paul Mitchell, a Partner in Andrews Kurth’s Houston office, and Rachael Rolón, Counsel in the firm’s offices in The Woodlands, Texas.

In 2008, Donald Westacott began working as a petrophysicist at Devon’s headquarters, where he performed sophisticated reservoir analysis and “gas in place” models of Devon’s interests in the Barnett Shale, a North Texas geological formation containing large deposits of natural gas.

Devon filed suit in 2010, alleging that Mr. Westacott misappropriated this highly confidential analysis and, on his last day of employment in 2009, used disk-wiping software to permanently delete the only copy of his analysis in Devon’s possession.

“This case was never about money,” says Mr. Mitchell, who was honored as Texas Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week for his work on this case. “The energy industry is driven by expert analysis of oil and gas fields, and it is essential that Devon and other energy companies protect their proprietary information.”

Following a three-day trial, jurors in U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal’s court found that Mr. Westacott violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and that his misappropriation of trade secrets was willful and malicious. Judge Rosenthal entered final judgment in the case on Sept. 19, 2011.

“This case demonstrates how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act can be a powerful weapon for employers against rogue employees,” says Ms. Rolón. “We want to thank the jury and Judge Rosenthal for their hard work on this case.”

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