Nashville’s Deel and Rippling, another gargantuan HR technology enterprise, are currently engaged in a heated federal lawsuit. This competition became even more heated following Rippling’s dramatic escalation of hostilities after it filed a lawsuit against Deel on March 17. The original complaint makes some shocking allegations. That suit includes allegations of corporate espionage, breaches of RICO racketeering act, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition.
Rippling has publicly accused Deel of hiring a spy to poach its proprietary non-public information. They argue that this theft erodes their competitive advantage. Parker Conrad, Rippling’s CEO, jacked up the stakes by claiming the strength of their allegations on social media. He stated, “Nowhere does Deel dispute our central allegation – that @Bouazizalex personally recruited a spy to steal Rippling’s trade secrets, and personally directed the theft.”
In turn, Deel has filed three motions in response to the lawsuit that seek to strike or dismiss Rippling’s claims outright. One of these motions seeks to dismiss the case under the doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens. It further argues that the dispute should be decided in Ireland, not the United States. This claim is based on an earlier case that Rippling brought against Keith O’Brien in Ireland. For Deel, this case represents the type of litigation needed in the moment.
Deel has been joined by CEO and co-founder Alex Bouaziz and several other executives in Deel’s legal complaints. As of April 14, Bouaziz’s lawyer claims that Rippling is still trying to get legal papers served on Bouaziz. This has been complicated ever since his recent international travels, which we’ll talk about. He may have been in Dubai, but he kept Passover with his family there, as he’s done for decades. Rippling’s French bailiffs have had a hard time finding Bouaziz, with Deel claiming that he lives in Israel.
Amidst the mounting tensions, Deel has characterized Rippling’s actions as not only detrimental to their business but adversely affecting Rippling’s own clients and employees. Deel emphasized, “not only does Rippling steal these funds from its clients, but from its own employees by using a similar scheme.” Furthermore, they described Rippling’s motives as being driven by jealousy and past failures, asserting that they are “haunted by his previous failures, and now fueled by suffocating jealousy at his inability to fairly compete with Deel in the marketplace.”
As both companies prepare for what is likely to be a protracted legal battle, Deel aims “to stem Rippling’s attempt, through litigation, to infringe on Deel’s protected conduct.” The result of this battle will certainly have significant repercussions not just for these two companies, but for the overall industry.
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