Deel has just thrown another curveball in the legal showdown with rival HR tech startup Rippling. Deel filed a motion that had a bunch of letters in it, and they want the Irish court to force Rippling to spill the beans and hand over some information. In one of the letters, Deel is asking for the juicy, unredacted versions of witness affidavits, especially the one from former Rippling employee, Keith O’Brien. Apparently, O’Brien spilled the beans in an Irish court and confessed to being a spy for Deel, according to the affidavit released by Rippling.
Rippling decided to take Deel to court back in March, accusing them of stealing trade secrets, messing with their business, and other stuff, all because of the spying claims. Deel didn’t take it lying down and decided to fight back by filing their own lawsuit. They’re trying to get Rippling’s case thrown out on a bunch of technicalities, but they’re also making some spicy claims of their own about Rippling. Deel is saying that Rippling was also trying to spy on them, adding more drama to the mix.
In the letters that came out on Monday, Deel is shining the spotlight on an affidavit from Rippling’s ex-general counsel, Vanessa Wu. The affidavit spills the tea on what Wu remembers about the spy shenanigans and her thoughts on the back-and-forth between the two companies’ lawyers. But here’s the kicker – Wu spilled the beans on Rippling firing O’Brien and giving him some cash to keep quiet and not sue. She also revealed that Rippling made a second deal with O’Brien, agreeing to cover his expenses and legal fees related to the case. Deel is now pushing for the court to make Rippling hand over the full, unfiltered versions of both agreements. They can’t wrap their head around how a fired employee ended up back on the payroll as a paid witness. It’s like a soap opera, but with legal documents.
Not really sure why this matters, but both sides are swearing up and down that they’re innocent while throwing shade at each other. It’s like a never-ending game of he said, she said. We’ll just have to wait and see what the court decides, but if more of O’Brien’s testimony and those agreements come out in the open, we’re in for a wild ride. Who knew legal battles could be this entertaining? So grab your popcorn and let’s see how this drama unfolds.
