The Wisconsin State Journal reports that a federal district court jury in Wisconsin has awarded nearly $1 billion in damages, including $700 million in punitive damages, against Tata Consultancy Services for theft of trade secrets. The plaintiff, software maker Epic, accused a Tata employee of posing as an Epic customer in order to gain access to proprietary information on Epic’s computer network. 

This case reminds us once again that punitive damages are awarded in cases that do not fit the mold of consumer versus large corporation.  Epic, the plaintiff here, is a corporation that generated revenues in excess of $2 billion in 2015.  

The Times of India reports that Tata intends to appeal.  The story reports that, according to Tata, the district court judge has already indicated he will reduce the amount of damages.