Lehmann Maupin Lawsuit Against Former Employee Accused of Stealing Trade Secrets Dismissed -ARTnews

A lawsuit filed in New York’s Southern District Court by Lehmann Maupin Gallery against a former employee accused of stealing trade secrets has been dismissed.

Richard L. Schoenstein, a lawyer whose firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP represented Lehmann Maupin, confirmed that the case has been dismissed with prejudice, meaning that it cannot be taken back up by the court. He declined to comment as to whether a settlement had been reached.

The case filed last November hinged on allegations that Bona Yoo, a former director of Lehmann Maupin and a current sales director at Lévy Gorvy, had stolen trade secrets after leaving the gallery. At Lehmann Maupin, Yoo had specialized in collectors from Korea and the surrounding region, and the complaint alleged that she illegally took personal contact information for her clients and “maliciously corrupted” computers at Lehmann Maupin before she departed her job there last fall.

In response, Yoo filed a counterclaim against the gallery. Her lawyers said in their complaint, which was filed in February, that the Lehmann Maupin suit was intended “to spite its former employee.” Lehmann Maupin’s suit said that she had stolen clients’ contact information, and while her suit claimed that she took with her “certain personal files” before leaving, the complaint alleged that the gallery did not have exclusive rights to such data.

A lawyer representing Yoo did not immediately respond to request for comment.