Lawsuit over theft of UnitedHealth’s trade secrets settled out of court
UnitedHealth Group’s federal lawsuit against two former executives accused of stealing trade secrets has been dismissed after arbitration.
UnitedHealth alleged the two men, Ken Ehlert and Mark Pollman, used proprietary technologies to start Lore Health, whose flagship product is an AI chatbot that acts as a digital companion to patients seeking to take control of their mental and physical health.
Lore Health utilizes a large-language model generative AI that gathers input from users who have overcome health problems, then distributes that information to others who may benefit, effectively creating a support network. UnitedHealth alleged the technology grew, in part, out of a diabetes management tool owned by UnitedHealth that was developed by Ehlert and Pollman.
The connection began after UnitedHealth’s purchase of Ehlert and Mark Pollma’s research firm, Savvysherpa, in 2017. The $46.8 million deal put Pollma and Ehlert in executive roles at UnitedHealth until they both left in July 2021.
When they left the company, UnitedHealth said, Pollma and Ehlert took proprietary knowledge with them. They also allegedly received a hard drive with 500,000 files from a former colleague a few months after leaving the company. In court filings, UnitedHealth alleged that information from the hard drive was used to create Lore Health’s service—and even showed up on its website.
UnitedHealth also claimed Polma and Ehlert attempted to cover their tracks by changing Lore Health’s website to remove any connection to UnitedHealth’s trade secrets. Polma and Ehlert rejected the accusations.
The lawsuit was ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, with neither side admitting wrongdoing. The decision is not expected to impact Lore Health’s business.
A federal judge officially dismissed the lawsuit in May.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.