That’s because Deel has now formally consented to receive service of process. The suit was brought by its one-time competitor, Rippling. The deal includes Deel’s joint CEO, Alex Bouaziz. It recruits high-profile attorneys Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli, and a Dublin court has approved the arrangement. The Irish law firm Hayes Solicitors will serve on behalf of all three parties.
Rippling had been working furiously to scoop the Deel execs. They’ve tried and failed several times in countries such as France and Italy. Alex Bouaziz, who lives in Israel, happened to be in Dubai on April 15 for a short visit to celebrate Passover. Even after questioning about where Bouaziz had gone to during that time, Deel declined to answer.
Andrea David Mieli is an independent artist and designer living and working in Italy. According to the account, he became increasingly hard to find while the service was being attempted. Rippling further claimed in their affidavit that they had failed to serve Mieli while he was in Italy, adding to the confusion around the jurisdiction of the legal case.
In retaliation to Rippling’s claims, Deel brought a countersuit in the United States last week. The countersuit claimed that Rippling developed a mole inside Deel to steal trade secrets.
Parker Conrad, CEO of Rippling, emphasized the seriousness of the allegations against Bouaziz:
“Nowhere does Deel dispute our central allegation – that @Bouazizalex personally recruited a spy to steal Rippling’s trade secrets, and personally directed the theft.” – Parker Conrad
Deel’s spokesperson doubled down on the attack. They said there was never any goal to eliminate service and called such allegations a distortion.
“It’s a misrepresentation that anyone was avoiding service and that narrative was clearly being used as a public smear tactic.” – Deel’s spokesperson
The spokesperson verified the points that the service acceptance agreement was made in Dublin circuit court.
“Today in court in Dublin Hayes Solicitors agreed to accept service on behalf of all four parties.” – Deel spokesperson
And the legal battle continues across the country. Both companies are now prepping for additional proceedings that will further impact their day-to-day operations and their competitive standings. The case serves as an important reminder of the growing push-and-pull between the tech and compliance industries. Concerns around trade secrets and anti-competitive practices are coming to the fore.
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