Fortescue staff who left to form their own rival startup challenged extensive search orders of their homes and offices as a cynical distraction to avoid properly defending allegations of trade secret theft, a court has been told.
Lawyers for the iron-ore giant on Tuesday said the case brought against Perth startup Element Zero and three of its directors was bolstered by the implausible explanations for their actions, including copying confidential documents to their personal laptops and email accounts.
