Lawsuit Alleges Violations of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets, and Breach of Contract to Usurp OZY’s Formula for Success on the Cusp of Its $2 Billion Valuation
Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch LLP announced today it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of OZY Media, Inc. (“OZY”) against Defendants Benjamin Smith, Semafor, Inc. (“Semafor”), and BuzzFeed, Inc. (“BuzzFeed”). The complaint seeks to hold accountable former BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief and New York Times media columnist Ben Smith and Semafor, the company he co-founded in 2022, for misappropriating OZY’s trade secrets for their own benefit. The lawsuit additionally alleges that BuzzFeed breached the mutual nondisclosure agreement it entered into with OZY in 2019 as part of its efforts to buy the company. OZY seeks to recoup the catastrophic damages caused by the Defendants’ conduct, and to recover the profits that the Defendants have unjustly reaped as a result.
“Ben Smith’s decision to write a series of hit pieces about OZY Media while misleading his readers and the public about his central role in BuzzFeed’s efforts to buy OZY two years earlier, holding an equity stake in BuzzFeed, and preparing to launch his own media company, was a blatant violation of his legal obligations and basic journalistic ethics,” said Dustin Pusch, Partner and Co-Founder of Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch LLP and attorney for OZY. “After BuzzFeed went public and having seen OZY’s playbook for launching, operating, and generating revenue from a multi-platform media company during BuzzFeed’s attempt to buy OZY, Ben Smith and his co-founder announced the creation of their own media company, Semafor—a spitting image of OZY.”
Prior to the defendants’ actions outlined in the complaint, OZY was a successful and thriving majority Black-owned multi-platform brand with five premium subscription newsletters, 12 TV shows, 10 podcasts, a unique awards program and a flagship events business anchored by OZY Fest. Officially launched in 2013 by education entrepreneur and journalist Carlos Watson, the complaint describes how OZY’s audience was more diverse, educated and engaged than BuzzFeed’s, making it an attractive acquisition target. OZY also employed more than 90 percent women and people of color, factors which were also appealing to both blue-chip advertisers and prominent venture capital investors. By fall of 2021, JPMorgan Chase informed OZY that it should expect a valuation of $2 billion during its upcoming Series E financing round.
The plaintiff is jointly represented by Alexander Sakin of Sakin Law.
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Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch LLP is a leading defamation law firm devoted to reputation management and fighting misinformation. It was founded by Megan L. Meier, Daniel P. Watkins, Andy Phillips, and Dustin Pusch. The Meier Watkins partners’ past successes include prominent crisis matters and some of the most significant defamation settlements and verdicts in American history. They have represented tech companies, entrepreneurs, Fortune 100 Companies, owners of professional sports teams, celebrities, elected officials, and private equity funds. Half of the firm’s founding partners have been recognized by Chambers & Partners as among the best in the United States for High Net Worth: Defamation / Reputation Management. Learn more at mwpp.com.
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