Miller Barondess has secured an arbitration victory on behalf of CriticalPoint Partners LLC in a high-stakes trade secret and unfair competition dispute. A petition is pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court to confirm the Final Arbitration Award of December 8, 2025. (CriticalPoint Partners LLC v. Philippe Didisheim, et al., Case No. 26STCP00147).
The Miller Barondess team includes Sasha Frid, Zachary Sarnoff, and Dominic Nunneri.
CriticalPoint Partners LLC (“CPP”), a leading Los Angeles–based investment bank and private equity firm, has secured a multi-million-dollar arbitration victory in a high-stakes trade secret and unfair competition dispute against former employees.
The case arose from the conduct of two former CPP employees, Chapin Newhard and Philippe Didisheim, who breached their confidentiality agreements by misappropriating CPP’s confidential and proprietary information to launch their competing businesses, 48North Partners and Anvil Partners. After extensive arbitration proceedings, CPP obtained a $1.3 million award against the two former employees.
In a strongly worded final award, the Arbitrator (Hon. James Ware, Ret.), concluded that the respondents committed multiple breaches of contract. He found that their use of CPP’s confidential information “was associated with dishonesty, a willingness to lie and hide their conduct,” and that the respondents “knew what they were doing breached their obligations, their only concern was not getting caught.” Judge Ware further determined that the respondents’ testimony was “lacking in credibility” and that they “were fully aware that their actions were improper and deliberately sought to conceal their conduct,” emphasizing that their intent to hide the misuse of confidential materials “underscores the wrongful nature of their actions.”
Significantly, in addition to the monetary award, Judge Ware imposed a broad five-year injunction prohibiting the former employees from soliciting CPP’s clients or using any of the misappropriated confidential information.
“This decision sends a clear message that courts and arbitrators will not tolerate employees stealing confidential information to compete unfairly,” said Sasha Frid. “The Arbitrator saw through respondents’ misconduct, found in CPP’s favor, and imposed meaningful remedies to protect our client’s business.”