Applied Systems Sues Comulate for Fraud and Misappropriation of Trade Secrets
November 21, 2025
CHICAGO – November 21, 2025 – Applied Systems® (“Applied”) today filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Ardent Labs, Inc., d/b/a Comulate (“Comulate”) and PBC Consulting Inc. (“PBC”) for fraudulently and unlawfully accessing Applied’s technologies to reverse engineer and misappropriate Applied’s valuable trade secrets in order to accelerate their product development.
Routine review of Applied’s software development kit (SDK) usage detected unusual activity by a small agency that triggered internal escalation protocols. With the support of a leading third-party forensics firm, Applied’s investigation revealed that Comulate created a fake insurance agency to perpetrate its fraudulent activity. It misappropriated Applied’s valuable trade secrets to speed up product development by reverse engineering critical functionality within Applied Epic, likely both to enhance the features and functionality of Comulate’s product offerings and to build new offerings that would not have been viable without our intellectual property (IP).
“Given the clear evidence of this theft and other serious misconduct by Comulate, legal action is necessary to protect ourselves from further fraud, theft, misappropriation and potential data exposure for the interests of our customers, employees, partners and investors,” said Rich Cohan, Chief Legal Officer. “Respect for intellectual property and ethical business practices is fundamental to fair and healthy markets, and essential to promoting innovation that benefits our entire industry. We are obligated to protect our IP to ensure future and ongoing protection of our trade secrets that have been built through hundreds of millions of dollars of investment over several decades.”
Applied is seeking injunctive relief, as well as monetary damages and other remedies as provided by law.
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About Applied Systems
Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most.
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