Elizabeth Sandza (Senior Counsel-Washington, D.C.) and Lindsay Bethea (Associate-Washington, D.C.) were granted a Motion to Dismiss by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of their clients, an Africa Stock Exchange and its CEO, dismissing the case in its entirety. The complaint alleged that the stock exchange, the World Bank and two individuals stole the plaintiff’s trade secrets related to trading ETFs in Africa. Elizabeth and Lindsay filed the motion based on a lack of jurisdiction, the running of the statute of limitations and a failure to state a claim based on several defects in the plaintiff’s complaint. The USDC held that the statute of limitations had run as to the federal causes of action, thereby divesting the court of supplemental jurisdiction over the state court causes of action and justifying total dismissal. The day after the dismissal was docketed, the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where the team will defend the lower court decision for their clients.