That guy from Volagi has torpedoed himself by commenting so much and in such detail. I am sure his lawyer told him to STFU but damned if he didn't listen.

Makes me wonder if he knew he was dead meat all along and is trying to use social media to put pressure on Specialized, and hoping that Specialized will cut a deal.

"According to the Mercury News, Specialized had to put aside some of their most serious claims of trade secret theft when the judge curtailed the scope of the suit. They're instead seeking at least $41,500 in damages to send a message about employees setting up a rival company while already in employment."

Verdict is expected in the next few hours.

Articles like this won't do much to encourage Specialized to back down!

http://volagi.wordpress.com/2012/01/...of-the-future/

Or in other words, Specialized tried to bury them with legal fees.

It's sad this suit was about $41k. The trial itself would have cost the parties a small fortune. Stupid lawyers.

Specialized just won the damages portion... a whole $1.00. $0.45 after lawyer fees. HAHAHAHAHA

:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

So now my question is whether or not Volagi can go back after specialized for lawyer fees for this, as I recall they were in about 200K in lawyers to defend themselves.

No they can't, unfortunately -- at least not for the part of the case they lost. They should however be able to recoup fees for the one Specialized dropped/had thrown out by the judge.

Wow Specialized really sucks

A little old of a post, but from the "WeKeepYouCycling" FB page:

It seems Volagi may walk away with a $41K financial hit (plus legal fees). If you've not been following this, Volagi is a recent start up from former Specialized employes who started a competing frame company. Specialized had trouble proving technology was stolen from them in the court case, however based on the tweets it seems they still may have to pay for contract violations- as they discussed the new company while at Specialized. We hope this has been the best PR campaign for the new company. Sales have sky rocketed since the lawsuit.



I like the very last sentence. Hopefully this is enough to pay their legal fees AND buy their houses back!

It would be worthy to note that this litigation has made it to quite a few cycling news sites -- and while they might not be able to recoup all attorney fees, they've gotten a hell of a lot of free advertising/pr for their company.

The free advertising and the timing of the VeloNews Buyer's Guide couldn't have been better for them. I got it yesterday.

FYI, Volagi just tweeted as a reply to someone that they've incurred roughly 400K in attorney fees. Yikes :(

Edit: Just like I said about the dropped trade secrets portion:

Choi said they would, however, explore the possibility of recouping some of their own legal expenses. “Because they completely dropped the trade secret part of the suit, it allows us to go and potentially file suit for malicious prosecution,” said Choi. “We would obviously like to get our legal fees back and the damages that have been caused.”

Just wow! Volagi gets to keep the patent on the design, it looks like.

Awesome. I think this is a great day for all cycling enthusiasts. More bike companies is good.

Nice, not only because they are small fledgling company, but I think they have a great idea with that bike concept. Wish I could afford one...

It would be a shame to see someone doing something truly unique shut down like this.

Good day for all people looking for this kind of bike. Volagi will definitely have a hard hold on this niche market for a bit.

Apparently, Mike Sinyard said he's satisfied with the result:rolleyes:

Where are all the lawyers who were predicting doom and gloom for Volagi? Off eating some crow?

Oh no, they knew who the only real winners would be long long ago, the lawyers..... $400k just for one side! Awesome!

I started the thread. I must admit that I thought it looked bad for Volagi re the founders coming up with a design while still employed at Specialized, but apparently the jury felt different. I am indeed happy with the result.

Now off to eating my crow accompanied with a nice microbrew, eh.

At least in California, your boss can't own the patent for your pipe dream if you dream it on your own time and resources. Hip-hip for the California Civil Code.

This is probably no small factor in the success of silicon valley at being the cradle of so many innovative technology companies.

Well, there goes my retirement;) I was hoping to finance earlier retirement through the sale of my rare Volagi. Now I'm going to have to keep working for a living.

It is heartening that a small company can't simply be put out of business because of a technical contract violation that obviously didn't cause any material damage.

Mike Sinyard: "We are the Apple Computer of the bicycle industry."

Volagi lawyer: "Mike Sinyard, you are no Steve Jobs."

Ouch, that'll leave a mark!

I'm sorry, but I don't get it - from what I can see, the guys at Volagi violated a ton of ethical principles. Let's just start with stealing sales/service information from their employer. I am no fan of Specialized necessarily, but I wouldn't want to do business with sidewinders like the ones that started Volagi.

Signed,

Contrarian Curmudgeon

If thats all they get "hit" for, They should consider themselves VERY lucky, and thankful. Pay it...wait a bit, and then re-start.

Sinyard actually said that in a deposition/court, or are you making it up?

If he said that, Tom Ritchey should have sued his ass back to the stone age, b/cos of the issue with the Stumpjumper.

yes he acutally said it jed,i will never ride a specialized after this ****...

This was completely disclosed by Choi. Not only that, but I believe he stated the vast majority of this information was widely available online or in the public domain

Yep:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/...lized-1_203443