The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday heard oral arguments from attorneys representing The Bank of New York Mellon, Deloitte and a former BNYM independent contractor who sued the institutions for misappropriation of a mathematical model he created to guide investments in wind farms.

Boies Schiller Flexner partner Joshua Schiller argued that U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams of the Southern District of New York was wrong to grant a motion to dismiss nearly all of his client André Pauwels’ claims in March 2021. Attorneys for BNYM and Deloitte argued among other points that Pauwels’ model was not a trade secret.