Former Google Self-Driving Engineer Files for Bankruptcy
05 March 2020 - 4:38PM
Dow Jones News
By Elizabeth Wollman
Anthony Levandowski, the self-driving engineer accused by Google
of breaching his employment contract and misusing confidential
information, filed for bankruptcy, citing a $179 million legal
judgment.
A judge ruled Wednesday in San Francisco County Superior Court
that Mr. Levandowski must pay Google an award determined in
December by an arbitration panel, plus interest and lawyers' fees.
Mr. Levandowski had appealed the arbitration panel's decision.
Attorneys for Mr. Levandowski didn't immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Mr. Levandowski left Google's self-driving car unit, Waymo, in
2016 and helped start a company soon acquired by Uber Technologies
Inc., igniting a multipronged fight over proprietary information
tied to the future of transportation that is still raging.
Google parent Alphabet Inc. sued Uber in 2017, claiming that Mr.
Levandowski stole more than 14,000 confidential files before
leaving Google. Waymo claimed the stolen information made its way
into Uber's Lidar design, a sensor that uses light pulses to detect
obstacles on or near the road, allowing Uber to fast-track its own
self-driving cars. Waymo and Uber settled the lawsuit in 2018, but
not before the judge in the case asked federal prosecutors to
investigate Uber and Mr. Levandowski over possible trade-secret
theft.
While Mr. Levandowski wasn't a defendant in the lawsuit, he
faced claims in arbitration tied to his employment contract. He
earned more than $120 million at Google, according to legal
documents.
A spokesperson for Waymo said the award is a "significant
judgment" and the company will continue to take the necessary steps
to protect its confidential information. In the bankruptcy filing
Wednesday, Mr. Levandowski lists estimated assets of $50 million to
$100 million and estimated liabilities of $100 million to $500
million.
In August, Mr. Levandowski was charged by federal authorities
with 33 counts of trade-secret theft.
According to an indictment, Mr. Levandowski, while working at
Waymo, downloaded files in December 2015 including schematics and
engineering drawings as well as internal technical goals onto his
company computer. Three days later he allegedly transferred the
files onto his personal laptop. Mr. Levandowski resigned from Waymo
in January 2016, and a month later signed a term sheet for a deal
with Uber, according to federal officials.
A spokesman for Uber declined to comment.
--Preetika Rana contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 05, 2020 00:23 ET (05:23 GMT)
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