Automotive software giant CDK Global has filed a lawsuit against its competitor Tekion, accusing the company of running an illegal cyber campaign to steal confidential data from car dealerships. The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claims Tekion’s actions were designed to gain market share through unlawful practices that harm competition and customers.
CDK, based in Austin, Texas, alleges that Tekion, based in Pleasanton, California, and one of its partners, conducted a “sophisticated” scheme to hack into CDK’s systems. These systems are used by car dealerships for daily sales and service operations. CDK claims that Tekion’s actions not only interfere with its relationships with dealerships but also violate California’s unfair competition law.
In the complaint, CDK’s lawyers argued that the court needs to step in to ensure a fair and legal environment for business. “This court must intervene to restore a fair and legal playing field among CDK and its competitor Tekion,” they said.
Both companies have not responded to requests for comment. This lawsuit comes after Tekion filed an antitrust lawsuit against CDK in December, accusing it of monopolizing the market for dealership management systems. CDK has denied the accusations and is asking the court to dismiss the case.
CDK, which has been in business for over 40 years, serves nearly 15,000 dealerships in North America, processing millions of transactions daily and supporting billions of dollars in commerce annually. Tekion, according to CDK, has encouraged dealers to create a “virtual tunnel” that connects their data management systems to Tekion’s systems.
CDK claims that Tekion used this method to entice dealers to break their contracts with CDK and switch to Tekion’s services. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and an order to prevent further intrusions into CDK’s systems.
The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under the case number 3:25-cv-01394. CDK is represented by attorneys Vineet Bhatia and Shawn Raymond of Susman Godfrey.
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