Propel Fuels’s Trade Secret Theft Case Against Phillips 66 Scheduled for Trial August 26, 2024
SACRAMENTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Propel Fuels, Inc. (“Propel”), a leading retailer of low-carbon fuels at stations throughout California, shared today that its trade secret misappropriation case against Phillips 66 Company (“Phillips 66”) has been scheduled for jury trial on August 26, 2024, in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, located in Oakland, California.
The lawsuit, filed on February 16, 2022, alleges that Philips 66 stole confidential data, proprietary strategies and business intelligence developed by Propel over 13 years at a cost to Propel of more than $200 million. Founded in 2004, Propel was an early pioneer in the sale of low-carbon renewable fuels, including E85, a cleaner energy solution for use in Flex Fuel vehicles. In 2015, Propel was the first in the market to retail high-blend renewable diesel, which Propel sells under its HPR™ brand. Renewable diesel is a cleaner diesel fuel produced from lower carbon intensity feedstocks; Propel’s HPR (R99) was the first high-blend renewable diesel targeted to consumers in the California market.
According to court filings, Propel and Phillips 66 entered into due diligence in 2017 in connection with a proposed acquisition of Propel by Phillips 66. Phillips 66 extended the due diligence process over eleven months, during which Propel, under a non-disclosure agreement, disclosed its proprietary strategies and data, and was actively building a new integrated renewable fuels business for Phillips 66, when Phillips 66 abruptly and without explanation terminated the deal on August 24, 2018.
The next business day, Phillips 66 announced to California regulators that it would enter the E85 market in the state and launched retail sales of high-blend renewable diesel weeks later. Phillips 66 rapidly expanded its California renewables business using Propel’s data and market insights; it now retails E85 or renewable diesel at more than 600 stations in the state. In 2021, Phillips 66’s former Chair and CEO predicted its California renewable business would generate billions in annual profits, and its current CEO Mark Lashier has touted to investors the “high return, low capital” nature of the company’s “incredibly successful” renewable fuels retail strategy.
Propel’s lawsuit alleges the Phillips 66 business was developed from its trade secrets in violation of California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“CUTSA”). On July 17, 2024, Superior Court Judge Michael Markman denied Phillips 66’s summary adjudication motions seeking to dispose of the case and avoid trial. After more than two years of discovery and pretrial proceedings, the case is scheduled for a pretrial conference on August 9 and a jury trial commencing August 26, 2024. According to court filings, Propel seeks compensatory damages of nearly $1 billion, which may be tripled (“trebled”) under CUTSA, and an injunction precluding Phillips 66 from continued use of any business or strategies developed from its trade secrets.
About Propel Fuels
Propel is an independent, West Coast company with a mission to connect consumers to better fuels. The company’s network of pumps provide access to low carbon fuels such as American-made Flex Fuel E85 and Diesel HPR, renewable diesel. These renewable fuels are more affordable, improve performance and lower carbon emissions in cars and trucks on the road today. More information is available at propelfuels.com.
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