India-based Tata Consultancy Services has failed in its attempt to reverse a $168 million damages judgment handed to DXC Technology by the US Supreme Court. The nation's highest court rejected Tata's appeal on Monday, letting stand a lower court decision that found the company liable for misappropriating trade secrets related to life-insurance software.

The case originated when DXC's predecessor, Computer Sciences Corp, alleged that Tata hired approximately 2,200 Transamerica employees and leveraged their familiarity with proprietary software to develop a rival life-insurance platform. Computer Sciences Corp had licensed its system to Transamerica during the 1990s. The suit, brought in Dallas federal court in 2019, sought damages for the alleged theft of confidential information.

Tata disputed the allegations, contending that the information in question lacked trade secret status and that any access to the software occurred lawfully. The company maintained throughout the proceedings that the disputed data was not confidential.

A jury delivered an advisory verdict in 2023 recommending $210 million in damages for wilful trade secret theft. US District Judge Brantley Starr subsequently reduced this figure to $168 million in 2024, comprising $56 million in compensatory damages and $112 million in punitive damages. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Starr's determination in 2025.

Tata's Supreme Court petition focused on two key arguments: first, that DXC should have been required to demonstrate actual losses to recover unjust enrichment damages, and second, that the punitive component was disproportionately large. DXC countered that the appellate court had appropriately applied established trade secret law to the case facts, warranting no further judicial intervention.