The judge overseeing the Wal-Mart Stores lawsuit against Amazon.com recused himself from the case on Monday after revealing he held stock in Wal-Mart.
Judge Donald Huffman, who was presiding over the case in Chancery Court in Benton County, Arkansas, pulled himself from the proceedings. Huffman said he held about 5,000 shares in Wal-Mart (WMT).
The development will delay Wal-Mart's lawsuit against Amazon. In October, Wal-Mart filed a trade-secret lawsuit against online bookseller Amazon (AMZN), would-be Internet pharmacist Drugstore.com, and their venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The suit alleges that the two online stores recruited current and former Wal-Mart employees to learn trade secrets -- especially Wal-Mart's expertise in using computers and logistics to offer lower prices than rivals. Wal-Mart charges that the two violated the Arkansas Trade Secrets Act and seeks unspecified damages.
Amazon has said it has done nothing wrong and is not interested in Wal-Mart's trade secrets.
The court date has been delayed twice before this development, according to Amazon spokesman Bill Curry. "We're still at square zero," he said.
Judge Huffman said his stock holdings are a matter of public record, and that he reminded all parties of his holdings at Monday's court appearance.
Huffman said the stock he owned would not be affected significantly by any ruling, even if he owned an amount "10 times over." He and his wife own "US$300,000 to $400,000 worth of stock," he said.
Nevertheless, lawyers from both sides met and objections were raised. The court must now find a new judge, Huffman said.
