Last month, Apple filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former employee who allegedly used his senior position within the company to steal “sensitive trade secret information” that he then provided to a reporter.
Lancaster responded to the complaint this week in California court. In his formal answer, obtained by MacRumors, Lancaster denied that he abused his position and trust within the company, systematically disseminated Apple’s trade secret information, or improperly used his seniority to gain access to internal meetings and documents.
Lancaster admitted that he did communicate with a tech reporter “regarding Apple products and workplace issues he considered to be of public concern,” but he denied that he was a “source” for “unspecified” articles published by the reporter:
Lancaster admits that he communicated with a reporter covering technology issues regarding Apple products and workplace issues he considered to be of public concern – namely, alleged corruption within Apple’s supply chain and among Apple’s supply chain managers. Lancaster lacks sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny the allegations contained in Paragraph 2 of the Complaint that he was a “source” for unspecified “articles” published by the reporter, and denies those allegations of Paragraph 2 on that basis.
In particular, Lancaster said that he exchanged direct messages with a reporter in November 2018, with communication continuing into 2019. Lancaster also revealed that he met “socially” with the reporter in person on or around September 3, 2019, including “for reasons that had nothing to do with Apple.”
Lancaster confirmed that he attended a large company event at Apple’s headquarters in October 2019, after receiving an email invitation from Apple to attend the meeting. During the event, Lancaster received a text message from a superior asking him to leave the event, at which point he immediately left, according to his answer. Apple alleged that this company event discussed “sensitive trade secret information,” including “Project X.”
Lancaster indicated that his final day of employment at Apple was November 1, 2019, and
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Read the original article: Former Apple Employee Responds to Lawsuit Accusing Him of Leaking Trade Secrets to Media