Judge Pulls Out of Wal-Mart’s Amazon Suit

The judge overseeing a closely watched lawsuit filed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. against Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. was forced to recuse himself Monday after disclosing that he owned stock in the world’s largest retailer.

Benton County Chancery Court Judge Donald Huffman recused himself at the request of lawyers from both sides after making the disclosure during the first hearing in the lawsuit over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets.

The move further delays any decision in Wal-Mart’s request for a temporary restraining order preventing former employees from disclosing trade secrets to Amazon.com, billed as the world’s biggest bookstore.

Wal-Mart contends the online retailers have recruited key employees from its technical staff in an effort to duplicate Wal-Mart’s vaunted data-warehousing systems and other technology.

Amazon denies the charges, saying it has ordered its employees not to use any Wal-Mart trade secrets.

The case is being closely watched, particularly among technology companies, because it could test the theory that certain key employees inevitably carry trade secrets with them when they leave for new employers.

Bill Curry, a spokesman for Amazon.com, said lawyers for the Seattle-based company were encouraged by Huffman’s comment in the aborted hearing that Wal-Mart had not yet shown justification for a temporary restraining order.

Wal-Mart filed suit Oct. 16, contending that Amazon.com’s chief information officer, Richard Dalzell, and nine other former Wal-Mart employees carried trade secrets with them when they joined the Seattle-based Internet retailer beginning in 1997.