A recent ruling from a Texas jury has mandated that Bell Helicopter Textron compensate a California-based company with $16 million. This decision comes after the California firm contended that Bell inappropriately shared proprietary data, which had been collaboratively developed, with a competitor in the cockpit display systems market.

The jury, convened in a Fort Worth state court, found that Bell had committed acts of unfair competition, although it dismissed Rogerson Aircraft Corp.’s allegations that trade secrets were misappropriated. Bell Helicopter, part of Textron Inc. and located in Fort Worth, has not provided any comments regarding the trial’s outcome.

Rogerson Aircraft has a long-standing relationship with Bell, having supplied avionics and display systems for their helicopters over a span of more than 25 years. The grievances were formally filed in 2017 when Rogerson sought upwards of $100 million in damages. The company accused Bell of distributing designs co-created by the two businesses to a third party, which subsequently produced a substitute for Rogerson’s systems.

The company further alleged that Bell was attempting to circumvent the regulatory approval process for new systems by misrepresenting them as replacements. This strategy, according to Rogerson, was intended to sidestep necessary legal and market obligations while undermining their existing products.