Instafuel’s Press Release in Response to the Court’s Order Compelling Arbitration
HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, September 11, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Claims of trade secret theft made by a Houston-based fuel delivery startup against a Total SA subsidiary were referred to arbitration on Wednesday. Senior U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller issued an order compelling arbitration in Fuel Husky, LLC D/B/A Instafuel’s (“Instafuel”) case against Total Energy Ventures International, S.A.S., N/K/A Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures (“TEVI”).
Started by two young entrepreneurs in Houston, Texas, Instafuel is a mobile-fueling startup that delivers gas directly to customer vehicles, thereby eliminating the need for customers to spend time at gas stations. Instafuel was recently ranked the fastest growing company in Houston by Inc. 5000 thanks to its unique approach of targeting commercial fleets as its customer base, innovative business model, and highly researched pricing strategy, client lists, and fueling techniques.
Instafuel’s rapid growth unsurprisingly caught the attention of competitors and investors, as Total S.A. (“Total”), the French multinational oil and gas conglomerate, repeatedly expressed interest in becoming an investor in Instafuel. During these discussions, mutual non-disclosure agreements were signed by Instafuel and Total, but after receiving Instafuel’s trade secrets under these agreements, Total turned around and invested in Instafuel’s direct competitor, Booster Fuels, Inc. (“Booster Fuels”).
In 2019 Instafuel discovered that TEVI, a subsidiary of Total, misappropriated Instafuel’s trade secrets and shared them with Booster Fuels. Shortly after this blatant breach of the mutual non disclosure agreements and wrongful divulging of Instafuel’s proprietary information to their direct competitor, Booster Fuels changed significant aspects of their business model to copy the successful strategies found in Instafuel’s stolen trade secrets, down to copying Instafuel’s truck design and addressable market.
After discovering this unlawful conduct, Instafuel promptly retained the Lloyd & Mousilli law firm and filed lawsuits against Total and Booster Fuels for misappropriation of trade secrets. In their case against Total, Instafuel has awaited the court’s ruling on arbitration since 2019 after Lema Barazi, the lead attorney representing Instafuel in these matters, argued that Total’s unlawful acts should not be subject to arbitration, especially considering the fraud involved.
Lema Barazi of Lloyd & Mousilli PLLC, issued a statement on Wednesday. “While we disagree that Total’s unlawful acts should be subject to arbitration, considering the fraud involved, we respect the court’s ruling and intend to aggressively prosecute Instafuel’s claims,” Barazi said.
Instafuel is represented by Lema Barazi and Feras Mousilli of Lloyd & Mousilli PLLC.
Total is represented by William R. Taylor, Joseph M. Beauchamp and Alexander G. Hughes of Jones Day.
The case is Fuel Husky LLC v. Total Energy Ventures International SAS, case number 4:19-cv-04277, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Any other requests for comments may be directed to info@lloydmousilli.com.
Started by two young entrepreneurs in Houston, Texas, Instafuel is a mobile-fueling startup that delivers gas directly to customer vehicles, thereby eliminating the need for customers to spend time at gas stations. Instafuel was recently ranked the fastest growing company in Houston by Inc. 5000 thanks to its unique approach of targeting commercial fleets as its customer base, innovative business model, and highly researched pricing strategy, client lists, and fueling techniques.
Instafuel’s rapid growth unsurprisingly caught the attention of competitors and investors, as Total S.A. (“Total”), the French multinational oil and gas conglomerate, repeatedly expressed interest in becoming an investor in Instafuel. During these discussions, mutual non-disclosure agreements were signed by Instafuel and Total, but after receiving Instafuel’s trade secrets under these agreements, Total turned around and invested in Instafuel’s direct competitor, Booster Fuels, Inc. (“Booster Fuels”).
In 2019 Instafuel discovered that TEVI, a subsidiary of Total, misappropriated Instafuel’s trade secrets and shared them with Booster Fuels. Shortly after this blatant breach of the mutual non disclosure agreements and wrongful divulging of Instafuel’s proprietary information to their direct competitor, Booster Fuels changed significant aspects of their business model to copy the successful strategies found in Instafuel’s stolen trade secrets, down to copying Instafuel’s truck design and addressable market.
After discovering this unlawful conduct, Instafuel promptly retained the Lloyd & Mousilli law firm and filed lawsuits against Total and Booster Fuels for misappropriation of trade secrets. In their case against Total, Instafuel has awaited the court’s ruling on arbitration since 2019 after Lema Barazi, the lead attorney representing Instafuel in these matters, argued that Total’s unlawful acts should not be subject to arbitration, especially considering the fraud involved.
Lema Barazi of Lloyd & Mousilli PLLC, issued a statement on Wednesday. “While we disagree that Total’s unlawful acts should be subject to arbitration, considering the fraud involved, we respect the court’s ruling and intend to aggressively prosecute Instafuel’s claims,” Barazi said.
Instafuel is represented by Lema Barazi and Feras Mousilli of Lloyd & Mousilli PLLC.
Total is represented by William R. Taylor, Joseph M. Beauchamp and Alexander G. Hughes of Jones Day.
The case is Fuel Husky LLC v. Total Energy Ventures International SAS, case number 4:19-cv-04277, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Any other requests for comments may be directed to info@lloydmousilli.com.
Feras Mousilli
Lloyd & Mousilli - Attorneys & Counselors at Law
+1 512-609-0059
info@lloydmousilli.com
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn