Dismissal of Averon’s Trade Secrets Complaint 'Is Warranted’, Says AT&T Reply

Averon’s April 10 response brief (see 2304110051) doesn’t “rescue” its first amended complaint “from the fundamental pleading failures that doom the claims,” said the redacted version Friday (docket 1:22-cv-01341) of AT&T’s April 21 reply brief in support of its motion to dismiss Averon's trade secret misappropriation allegations. Averon alleges AT&T courted it as a business partner for Averon's passwordless authentication technology, only for AT&T to use that technology to form the ZenKey joint venture with T-Mobile and Verizon that foreclosed Averon as a direct market competitor (see 2301100002). “Key elements and specificity are missing from the complaint, and the response brief can’t “correct those deficiencies or fill those gaps,” said AT&T. The complaint should be dismissed with prejudice, it said. “There is no misappropriation” because Averon doesn’t “viably plead” any improper means, it said. AT&T didn’t misappropriate Averon’s alleged trade secrets, nor was AT&T under an obligation to protect Averon’s confidential disclosures, it said. “When, like here, the plaintiff’s allegations make clear that the allegedly confidential material was beyond the scope of any contractual confidentiality obligation, dismissal is warranted,” it said.