The judge due to preside over the lawsuit brought by Wal-Mart Stores against Amazon.com Inc has stepped down because he owns Wal-Mart stock. Judge Don Huffman said that he did not think that his decisions in the suit would be affected – and the lawyers for both sides were not unanimous in wanting him to stand down – but recused himself anyway. Wal-Mart sued Amazon.com and others in October, accusing it of poaching key staff and using its trade secrets (10/19/98). The case has now been assigned to Benton County Chancery Judge Don Huffman. The others named in the suit are DrugStore.Com, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers LLP, and former Wal-Mart executive Richard Dalzell, who is now Amazon’s VP and chief information officer.
