(Bloomberg) -- Sports-focused private equity firm Bluestone Equity Partners LP won dismissal of a trade secrets theft lawsuit by boutique investment bank Inner Circle Sports LLC.
US District Judge Loretta Preska threw out Inner Circle’s claims Monday after a court hearing. Bluestone had argued that the suit failed to identify any protectable trade secret and, as a private equity firm, it was not a direct competitor with a bank.
Inner Circle, co-founded by former JPMorgan Chase & Co. sport finance head Robert Tilliss, sued Bluestone and founder Sharad “Bobby” Sharma in September, alleging they persuaded one of the bank’s employees, Kyle Charters, to secretly work for them and help develop their business.
After Charters resigned in February 2023, Inner Circle said in its suit that it was “astonished” to learn that he became a partner at Bluestone, which raised and closed a $300 million fund. Bluestone has said Charters, who was no longer working for the firm when the suit was filed, had no role in its fundraising.
Lawyers for Inner Circle didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Preska’s decision.
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