• by Wendy Davis , July 24, 2025

Omnicom Group is urging a Maryland state court judge to throw out Compass Marketing's latest complaint over allegations that Flywheel Digital -- the digital commerce agency Omnicom acquired from Ascential plc in late 2023 -- misappropriated Compass's trade secrets.

Judge Robert Thompson in Anne Arundel County dismissed Compass's first complaint against Omnicom last month, without prejudice. Two weeks ago, Compass filed an amended complaint with revised allegations.

Omnicom is now urging Thompson to toss the amended complaint, arguing that it "rehashes the same old theories this court already dismissed."

The new complaint "supplies no new facts that could change the court’s decision to dismiss the claims against Omnicom," the ad holding company writes in papers filed Tuesday with Thompson.

The company's argument comes in a state court case dating to March 2023, when Compass sued Flywheel, Ascential (which acquired Flywheel in 2018), and former Compass executives, over the alleged theft of trade secrets. (Compass filed a similar suit against Flywheel and some executives in federal court in 2022, but that matter was dismissed in 2023 on the grounds that the claims were outside the statute of limitations.)

In January, Compass added Omnicom as a defendant, alleging that it had "actual or constructive knowledge that it acquired Compass’s stolen trade secrets and confidential information through its acquisition of Flywheel," and "continues to leverage such misappropriated trade secrets and confidential information."

That complaint included allegations Omnicom leveraged Flywheel Digital's trade secrets to win Amazon's massive media account last year.

Omnicom's counsel, Jeff Hammel, argued to Thompson at a hearing last month that it "does not belong in this case," adding that the allegations wouldn't support a finding that it was part of a conspiracy to misappropriate trade secrets.

"Buying Flywheel is not an agreement to join a conspiracy," Hammel argued. "If it was, every time a company purchased another company that had litigation against it, they'd be alleged to have joined a conspiracy."

"There is no law that says that," Hammel continued.

"If it was Flywheel that allegedly took these trade secrets, it is Flywheel that's the proper defendant to sue," Hammel added.

Compass's counsel countered that it was "looking for direct liability based on Omnicom's actions," specifically arguing that Omnicom allegedly used "expertise and know-how from purchasing Flywheel" in order to win the Amazon account.

Thompson dismissed the claims against Omnicom immediately after hearing the arguments.

Omnicom now says there is no reason for Thompson to revisit his original ruling.

"This court has spent considerable time and resources addressing Compass’s claims against Omnicom, and dismissed them for good reason," Omnicom argues.

Omnicom also says the amended complaint should be thrown out because Compass filed it without first asking Thompson to authorize a new filing. Thompson dismissed Compass's earlier complaint without prejudice, but Omnicom argues that Maryland procedural rules required Compass to seek permission to amend its complaint before bringing it again.