Jury awards Propel Fuels $605 million for trade-secret misappropriation by Phillips 66

Propel Fuels Inc., a retailer of low-carbon fuels at stations throughout California, was awarded victory by a jury in its trade-secrets misappropriation case against Phillips 66 following a five-week trial in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, located in Oakland, California.

The jury found in Propel’s favor on its claim that Phillips 66’s California renewable fuels business was developed from Propel’s trade secrets in violation of California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act and awarded unjust enrichment damages totaling $604.9 million.

The jury also found Phillips 66’s misappropriation was willful and malicious, meaning the court may now triple the total damages award.

The verdict follows more than two years of pretrial proceedings and a trial that featured voluminous evidence and testimony from 31 witnesses, including 10 expert witnesses.

“Propel Fuels is pleased that after viewing all of the evidence, the jury held Phillips 66 accountable for stealing our trade secrets,” said Rob Elam, founder and CEO of Propel Fuels. “Before its discussions with Phillips 66, Propel had worked for more than 13 years to create the market for these fuels, which are important alternatives that improve air quality and help fight climate change. We were pioneers who helped create the market, and what Phillips 66 stole was the result of hard work by entrepreneurs who took the kind of risks that are the foundation for our entire modern economy.”

Michael Ng of the global disputes and investigations firm Kobre & Kim, lead counsel for Propel, said, “Propel did what many innovators cannot do—it stood up to a much larger adversary and persevered through a long process to vindicate its rights. We are grateful to the jury, who spent more than a month examining detailed evidence supporting this verdict and their finding that Phillips 66’s misappropriation was willful and malicious, and the highly experienced presiding judge, who devoted considerable time and effort to the arguments of both sides.”

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 16, 2022, alleged that Phillips 66 stole confidential data, proprietary strategies and business intelligence developed by Propel over 13 years at a cost to Propel of hundreds of millions of dollars.

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.

Propel and Phillips 66 entered into due diligence in 2017, in connection with a proposed acquisition of Propel by Phillips 66.

Propel alleged at trial that, during the due-diligence process, Propel revealed to Phillips 66 under a nondisclosure agreement meant to ensure confidentiality its proprietary strategies and data, and was actively building a new integrated renewable fuels business for Phillips 66.

Phillips 66 abruptly and without explanation terminated the deal Aug. 24, 2018, and the next business day 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.

Propel alleged at trial that 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.