Judge Sets September 2026 Jury Trial in Averon’s Trade Secrets Suit vs. AT&T

All motions to amend or supplement the pleadings in Averon’s trade secrets complaint against AT&T and ZenKey are due April 11, said a scheduling order signed Thursday (docket 1:22-cv-01341) by U.S. Circuit Judge Todd Hughes for the Federal Circuit, sitting by designation in the U.S. District Court for Delaware in Wilmington. Fact discovery cutoff in the case is May 22, 2025, and expert discovery cutoff is Nov. 5, 2025, said the order. A five-day jury trial is scheduled for mid-September 2026, it said. Averon alleges AT&T courted it as a business partner for Averon's passwordless authentication technology, only for the carrier to use that technology to form the ZenKey joint venture with T-Mobile and Verizon, foreclosing Averon as a direct market competitor (see 2301100002). Hughes, in a Feb. 26 order, denied AT&T’s motion to dismiss three counts of Averon’s complaint that alleged trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract, but granted its motion to dismiss six other counts involving allegations of fraud and misrepresentation, unfair competition and intentional interference with Averon’s customers (see 2402270006).