Jul 2 2008
Nucor Corporation has settled its pending lawsuit against its former employee John Bell and SeverCorr. This lawsuit was brought by Nucor in Federal Court in South Carolina to protect Nucor against the theft of its confidential information when Bell left Nucor to join SeverCorr.
Under the terms of the Settlement, the Court has entered an Order extending the injunction it previously entered in Nucor's favor on March 14, 2008. This Order prohibits Bell, and SeverCorr, from using the services of Mr. Bell in the preparation or manufacturing of interstitial free and ultra low carbon steels. This Court-ordered prohibition will remain in place until June 2009.
Under the terms of the Settlement, the Court has also entered a new Order which prohibits SeverCorr from producing, qualifying, promoting or marketing any ability to produce and sell interstitial free and ultra low carbon steels to prospective or actual customers. This Order will remain in place until at least September 2009.
Under the terms of the Settlement, Nucor is precluded from discussing the financial terms of the settlement.
Dan DiMicco, Chairman, President and CEO of Nucor, stated: Nucor is a leader in innovative steelmaking technologies and takes great pride in its advancements made for mini-mill steel production. Nucor's advancements in steelmaking have helped us become one of the largest, most profitable steelmakers in the world. These advances are the direct result of the hard work of all of our employees, and we have an obligation to our employees and shareholders to protect the intellectual property, confidential information and trade secrets associated with the advancements made through our collective efforts. That is what we did in this case; that is what we will do in the future.