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31 Jan, 2023, 12:14 ET

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MURFREESBORO, Tenn., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After four years of litigation, Backer-Springfield (Backer) was recently vindicated when the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware threw out a trade secret misappropriation action brought by its competitor, Zoppas Industries de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (ZIM). "We are pleased that the court agreed with us that ZIM's allegations were completely meritless," said Backer's V.P. of Sales/Marketing & Engineering, Louis Wallace. "We are happy that this cloud over our reputation has been lifted, and we can continue to serve our customers with innovative, top-quality products, as we have for over 100 years."

ZIM alleged in October 2018 that Backer copied ZIM's design for a new heating element for electric range tops after a change to U.L. safety requirements rendered existing range top heating elements non-conforming. ZIM alleged that Backer improperly received details of ZIM's heating element design from a mutual customer and used the information to secure the customer's business.

Backer vigorously defended itself on the grounds that Backer's design was developed independently and without any ZIM confidential information. Backer pointed out, for example, that it filed a patent application on its own design before the alleged events of ZIM's complaint even occurred. Following discovery, Backer moved for summary judgment, pointing out that ZIM had no evidence supporting its allegations. The Court agreed, finding that "ZIM has failed to produce any evidence that Backer acquired any ZIM trade secret" from the customer. Backer is currently seeking to recover its legal fees resulting from this meritless suit.

Backer-Springfield is a global market leader in heat-related solutions for the appliance manufacturing industries. Based on more than a century of experience in the field, Backer-Springfield manufactures and sells heating products to the appliance industry. Backer-Springfield is the largest producer of tubular heating elements in North America manufactures more than 25 million a year.

SOURCE Backer-Springfield