RENO, Nev. - Government lawyers say an attorney for software engineer Dennis Montgomery shouldn't be allowed to withdraw from his case against eTreppid Technologies until all documents he has containing military secrets are destroyed.
In the motion filed this week, the Department of Defense asks a judge to uphold a previous order by the director of national intelligence to assert the state secrets privilege in the legal battle between Montgomery and eTreppid over special software for national security reasons.
The motions assert that Michael Flynn, Montgomery's former lawyer, must not send any of the protected material to Montgomery's new lawyer and must destroy any documents, including drafts of court filings, e-mails or memos that contain protected information, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
But in a response opposing the government, Flynn argued that the government released sensitive material when it raided Montgomery's home last year in search of software source codes.
Montgomery claims he owns the codes, while eTreppid owner Warren Trepp alleges Montgomery stole them.
Flynn said he would comply with the court's April 2 order to temporarily seal certain documents but said ``that the genie did, in fact, escape the bottle because the government improperly and illegally sided with and aided Trepp in their attempt to seize certain technology from Mr. Montgomery.
The legal wrangling involves allegations that Gov. Jim Gibbons took money and gifts from Trepp while Gibbons was in Congress in exchange for helping eTreppid secure lucrative defense contracts.
