The fight between HR Tech’s startups began to ripple on Thursday, and this week, he filed an 84-page revised complaint in the lawsuit against Deel.
In addition to the ripples, the complaint accuses Deel of infiltrating and infringing four other competitors.
The revised complaint does not name all four other victims, except for TOKU, a cryptocurrency-based tax and payroll compliance company. Toku is suing competitor Liquifi, claiming corporate espionage and claiming Deel is involved.
Rippling’s revised complaint claims that “Victim-3 is a startup accelerator that previously affiliated with Deal.” The complaint is not implied who it is. (Y Combinator has backed both lip rings and deals, but there is no indication that this refers to a VC company. YC has not responded to requests for comment yet.)
The complaint also states that record market employers have one or more additional victims who are “the deal’s major competitor.” Sources familiar with the investigation believe more witnesses will soon move forward at these other companies to provide details.
A Deel spokesman called for a “far” claim in Rippling’s original lawsuit, adding that “the amendment cannot correct the myriad fatal flaws in the original complaint.”
Rippling’s amendment lawsuit alleges that Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz is the direct mastermind behind it all, sharing screenshots of the message as proof. And while this is a civil lawsuit, the ripples now suggest that this could be a criminal matter.
“This case concerns a crime syndicate that worked from the shadows of a multi-billion dollar technology company.
Rippling’s amendment lawsuit is currently suing Deel under the Federal Racketeering (RICO) Act, the Defend Strest Secrets Act, and the California State Bead. The lawsuit will be named directly as Alex Bouaziz. His father, Philip Bouadzis – Chairman and Chief Financial Officer. Daniel Westgers, Deal’s Chief Operating Officer.
It is important to note that Ripples’s lead lawyer is Alex Spiro of Quinn Emmanuel at Whiteshaw Law Firm. Spiro is a former prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. (He is so well known in the legal world that he has his own Wikipedia page.) Using words like “crime syndicate” in civil cases is a deliberate choice.
Sources familiar with the case say federal prosecutors are now actively considering allegations against the deal. Deal’s spokesman denies this. “We are not aware of any aggressive investigations into our businesses. As detailed in the lawsuit, Ripling has a long history of making false or sensational claims about competitors, urging a “investigation” from the government and then a “investigation” that leaks to the media. ”
However, any investigation into which it may exist is not a conviction. However, if a request is filed, Rippling is doing his best to set Bouaziz himself as one of the responsible persons. Complaints may even repetitively use the colorful language “Bouaziz Racketeering Enterprise.”
Other than that, many of the revised complaints reiterate what Ripples already claim. Summary: The wavy employee confessed to being a paid spy for Deal in an affidavit that reads like a Hollywood movie. Employees have admitted to accept any courtrooms that require sales leads, product roadmap, customer accounts, the names of superstar employees, and other information.
The employee got caught up in a ribbed set of honeypots, both he and Ripples say. Ripling sues deals primarily based on espionage allegations, claiming misappropriation of trade secrets, unlawful interference, and unfair competition.
Deel rebuts not about denializing Rippling’s accusations, but about making some of his own claims about Rippling. For example, earlier this week, Deel filed an amendment lawsuit alleging that Rippling was spying on Deel by “spoofing” employees and obtaining private product information.
A Deel spokesman called Rippling’s amended “Rehash” and argued the advantage of the claim in its own right. “We win in the market, we support our own cases and are also proven in court.”
Grab a fresh popcorn. This battle between the Great Clergy shows no signs of slowing down.