Apple Inc. and a former top processor engineer who left the company to start a server chip startup are exchanging claims of illegal conduct in a court battle that came to light Monday evening.

The startup in question, Nuvia Inc., exited stealth mode just last month with backing from prominent investors such as Mayfield. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Gerard Williams III left Apple in February after serving as the iPhone maker’s chief central processing unit architect for nearly a decade. At least eight other of the startup’s other employees worked for the iPhone maker as well.

Court documents first spotted by The Register have revealed that Apple sued Williams in August for alleged breach of contract and breach of duty of loyalty. Williams, the complaint contends, worked on Nuvia while he was employed by Apple and sought to recruit colleagues from the company for the venture. The company furthermore charges that the chips Nuvia is designing are “tied” to technologies that Williams developed while working on CPUs for iPhones and iPads.

“This case involves a worst-case scenario for an innovative company like Apple: A trusted senior director with years of experience, and years of access to Apple’s most valuable information, secretly starts a competing company leveraging the very technology the director was working on,” Apple wrote in the suit.

Williams has fired back. A counterargument filed on behalf of the Nuvia CEO last month charges that the employee contract provisions Apple accuses Williams of violating amount to a noncompete clause, which is generally not permitted in California.

The filing goes a step further. Williams’ attorneys allege that text messages between Williams and former colleagues which were cited in Apple’s lawsuit are proof that the iPhone maker illegally snooped on the private communications of employees. 

“Apple has provided no indication that any of its employees have consented to electronic recordation of their text messages. Indeed, the Complaint is entirely devoid of allegations of consent or of facts supportive of an inference of consent,” the counterargument reads. It asks the Santa Clara County Superior Court, where Apple filed the suit, to rule that the iPhone maker can’t use the messages as evidence.

A  hearing is scheduled to be held on Jan. 21. Apple is seeking an injunction against Williams and punitive damages. 

Nuvia has a strong incentive to end the legal dispute with Apple sooner rather than later. A prolonged legal battle between its CEO and one of the world’s largest tech companies is not something the startup needs as it works to get its first chips out the door and attract initial customers. Nuvia’s investors, which have pumped over $50 million million into the startup far, no doubt also want to see the lawsuit end as soon as possible.

If they hold up, Williams’ counter-allegations that Apple conducted illegal employee surveillance and used unenforceable contract terms might provide enough leverage to force a timely settlement. The snooping claim may carry particular weight given that the iPhone maker has sought to differentiate itself from rivals by touting its privacy-friendly features.

Photo: Pixabay