A lawsuit filed by election vendor Konnech Corporation against True the Vote, Inc., Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips has been dropped after months of gaining national attention over questions about voter integrity.
True the Vote has previously released information about voter fraud after extensive investigations. Konnech Corporation filed the lawsuit claiming Engelbrecht and Phillips spread slanderous rumors about the company and its CEO and that they gained data on the company unlawfully.
But now, Konnech has backed down, agreeing to dismiss the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The former defendants said they will continue evaluating their next moves and hope Konnech is held accountable for the harassment and "unwarranted actions."
Konnech CEO Eugene Yu was arrested in early October after the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office charged him with suspicion of theft of personal identifying information. Konnech distributes and sells its proprietary PollChief software, an election worker management system, which contains the personal information of poll workers. Investigators found the information was being stored on servers in the People's Republic of China, which is a breach of contract and illegal. Konnech denies ever hacking personal data information or storing it in China.
At the time of the arrest, Konnech had already filed the defamation lawsuit against Phillips and Engelbrecht. However, Phillips and Engelbrecht were arrested later in October for contempt of court for not giving up sources in their investigation.
"Konnech's aggressive litigation to shut down all conversation about their activities resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of Gregg Phillips and me," True the Vote founder Engelbrecht said Thursday. "It required the intervention of a higher court to release us. We are more dedicated than ever to our mission of fostering a public conversation about voting integrity."
"This was an unfounded defamation and unlawful computer access case that saw us strip searched and placed in solitary confinement," said Phillips. "While it is encouraging to see progress being made, the serious issues surrounding the spread of misinformation, improper detainment, and judicial misconduct cannot be overlooked. Our commitment to seeking justice remains steadfast."
Phillips, who is from Alabama, told 1819 News he believes since True the Vote released public information about what they had in the case and how they found their information, Konnech didn't feel they would win the case. He also said Konnech was days away from having to release discovery dockets they didn't want to release.
1819 News reached out to attorneys from Konnech, who have yet to comment on the case.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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