It’s fitting that the Connecticut Supreme Court’s historic March 28 decision in Evans v. General Motors — the first ruling in the United States specifically holding that trade secrets cases are entitled to a jury trial — arises from historic Anglo-American precedents.
The ruling reverses the decision of Superior Court Judge Robert McWeeny that Litchfield inventor John W. Evans isn’t entitled to have his spellbinding tale of treachery, missed opportunity, theft, lies, forgery and perjury unfold before a jury. Evans is seeking over $125 million in lost royalties for General Motors’ alleged theft of his design for a sleek and powerful “reverse flow” cooling system that first appeared in the 1992 Corvette Stingray, which hit the market in 1991.
