Dice appeals judge's ruling in case against Bold

BAY CITY, Mich.—Dice Corp. has asked a federal judge to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged Bold Technologies unlawfully accessed Dice's servers and stole its proprietary software, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court here.

Dice, a Michigan-based provider of central station automation platforms, filed suit in August 2011. On Oct. 25, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Ludington dismissed “with prejudice” the four trade and copyright claims in the suit, stating that Dice's case was based on “conclusory assertions, not evidence.”

Dice claimed that Bold, a Colorado-based competitor, misappropriated Dice's software with the help of Amy Condon, a former Dice engineer who left the company in May 2011 and was hired by Bold.

In July 2011, Condon assisted ESC Central of Birmingham, Ala., as the alarm company made the transition from Dice's software to Bold's Manitou. Dice alleged that Condon accessed its servers and file layouts during the process, including layouts that contained proprietary signal-processing software.

Condon denied the accusation in an affidavit. Ludington ruled in October there was no evidence that Bold circumvented Dice's security to gain unauthorized access to copyrighted materials. He also concluded that Bold did not use Dice's software, “much less use it for the principal purpose for which it was designed.”

On Nov. 8, Dice filed a motion for reconsideration. On Nov. 21, the company also filed a notice of appeal to the 6^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. If Ludington denies the motion for reconsideration, the case will go to the 6^th Circuit.

Craig Horn, an attorney representing Dice, did not return calls for comment.