DocMagic Expands Initial Charges in Ellie Mae Lawsuit

DocMagic Inc. has filed an amended complaint against Ellie Mae that expands the initial charges the former company levied against the latter. The amended complaint was filed in United States District Court (San Francisco) and is Case No. 3:09-CV-4017-MHP. Back in August 2009, DocMagic filed two lawsuits against Ellie Mae: one in Federal Court for antitrust violations, intentional interference with contractual relationships, interference with prospective economic advantage and unfair competition; and one in San Francisco Superior Court seeking a permanent injunction against Ellie Mae arising out of Ellie Mae's alleged misuse of DocMagic's proprietary information in connection with the Ellie Mae Docs system. At the urging of the federal court judge, the parties have since agreed to consolidate the state case claims into federal court and to dismiss the state case without prejudice. The amended complaint sets forth 14 federal and state claims, expanding on the allegations and claims initially made against Ellie Mae. The amendments include expansion of antitrust allegations and claims, including explanation of market definitions, monopoly leveraging, attempted monopolization, refusal to deal, and denial of access to essential facility (all federal violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act). Charges of unfair competition and false advertising; copyright infringement; and trade secret misappropriation were also included in the amended complaint. DocMagic is also seeking a declaratory judgment that DocMagic did not infringe upon Ellie Mae's copyrights and that Ellie Mae has no claim to the ownership of its client's loan data. When asked to respond to the amended complaint advancing the lawsuit Ellie Mae said that it had no comment.