Halo Microelectronics has launched a legal battle against former executive David Nam and his newly established company, Elevation Microsystems, Inc., accusing them of breaching fiduciary duties and misappropriating corporate opportunities. The complaint was filed by Halo Microelectronics Co., Ltd. and Halo Microelectronics International Corp. in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, on April 14, 2025. The lawsuit targets Elevation Microsystems, David Nam, Kenneth Kwok, Mason Choi, and several unnamed defendants.
The plaintiffs allege that David Nam secretly founded Elevation Microsystems while still serving as CEO and director at Halo. During his tenure from June 2019 to March 2025, Nam allegedly used his position to siphon off corporate opportunities and trade secrets for the benefit of his new venture. "Unbeknown to Halo," the complaint states, "Mr. Nam continued to serve as a highly compensated executive and director at Halo," all while building a competing company using resources misappropriated from Halo.
The lawsuit outlines multiple instances where Nam allegedly breached his fiduciary duties. One such instance involves a joint development agreement with Navitas Semiconductor Ltd., which was intended to foster innovation in GaN semiconductors for power conversion solutions. Despite resigning from the joint venture entity ESI after a buyout agreement in February 2023, Nam purportedly continued to present himself as its CEO on platforms like LinkedIn. Furthermore, he is accused of setting up Elevation as an alternative partner for Navitas-related opportunities without disclosing this conflict of interest to Halo's board.
Another alleged breach involves Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd., where Nam is said to have diverted potential collaborations from Halo to Elevation. This included securing a $15 million investment from Mobis for projects related to electric vehicles and autonomous driving technologies—opportunities that should have been pursued through Halo.
The complaint also details how Mr. Nam misappropriated product development projects like the HM5600 e-Fuse IC product by relabeling it under Elevation's brand as EL5600 with assistance from other co-conspirators within Halo.
Halo seeks monetary damages for economic harm suffered due to these breaches, restitution of amounts stolen or misappropriated including stock owned by David Nam in Elevation, punitive damages, injunctive relief preventing further commercialization of misappropriated products by Elevation or its associates, return control over financial accounts held by Mr. Nam on behalf of Halo among other remedies deemed just by the court.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys Ryan R. Smith, Dale R. Bish, and Charles A. Talpas from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Professional Corporation based in Palo Alto, California. The case is presided over by Judge P. Hernandez under Case ID #25CV463582.