Data Center Systems, a Dallas-based supplier of data center cabling solutions, equipment racks and cabinets, has won a lawsuit it filed against Computer Network Technology, a company that has since been acquired by McData Services, subsidiary of the network gear maker Brocade.

The court awarded DCS $12.5 million for damages sustained as a result of fraud the plaintiff alleged CNT had committed.

The jury verdict ended a litigation process that began in 2006 over agreement the two companies made in 2003, when DCS acquired rights to two CNT fiber-optic product lines, according to a news release issued by Haynes and Boone, the law firm that represented the plaintiff in the case.

DCS charged that CNT never intended to uphold the commitment it had made when the deal was struck to market and sell the said products but not compete with DCS.

"After eight days of trial in United States District Court in Dallas, the jury concurred, finding by clear and convincing evidence, that CNT had committed fraud and that DCS suffered lost profits of $12.5 million," a Haynes and Boone statement read.

McData acquired CNT, a switching equipment and storage management software vendor, in 2005 for about $235 million and, two years later, was itself bought by Brocade, the large San Jose, Calif., provider of data center networking equipment and software.