NC Commerce, VinFast agree some parts of lawsuit should remain secret

The North Carolina Department of Commerce and VinFast have both filed documents this month asking a judge to keep portions of a lawsuit against the automaker out of public view.

State Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced the lawsuit in May. It’s designed to allow the state to take over the Chatham County megasite that had been designated for VinFast’s operations.

Lawyers with Jackson’s Department of Justice filed a July 2 motion to seal an amended complaint and an attached exhibit. “Plaintiff has done so because the Amended Complaint quotes and paraphrases materials that have been designated as confidential by the Defendants and may be exempt from public disclosure pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1.2,” state government lawyers wrote.

VinFast’s lawyers filed a brief Wednesday supporting the government’s plan to keep the complaint and exhibit sealed permanently.

“The redacted material falls into four categories of confidential and proprietary information: (1) employee and headcount information — specific revised employment projections VinFast disclosed to the State in confidence; (2) contractor and vendor names — the identities of VinFast’s third-party contractors and financial partners; (3) contract/bid terms and financing details — specific financial terms, investment figures, and project schedules VinFast shared with the State; and (4) internal project and location details — specific locations, operational dates, and characterizations of contractor proposals,” wrote Danielle Williams, the Charlotte-based lawyer representing the Vietnamese company.

“This information constitutes confidential and proprietary business information and trade secrets that, if publicly disclosed, would cause serious competitive and commercial harm to VinFast and its business partners,” the court filing continued. “VinFast has consistently designated this information as confidential, and the governing Community Economic Development Agreement (‘CEDA’) between the parties expressly contemplates the protection of trade secret information. Sealing is warranted to protect VinFast’s compelling interest in preserving the confidentiality of this proprietary information.”

“VinFast agreed to build a factory and create jobs for North Carolinians – it didn’t do either,” Jackson said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. “When North Carolina makes a deal, we build in protection for taxpayers. VinFast broke the deal, so we’re using that protection to find a project for this site that will create jobs.” 

The lawsuit states that the company has defaulted on its agreement, which was to create 7,500 jobs and over $3 billion in private investments in order to receive all grant payments with the state and that “VinFast’s continued inaction all but guarantees further imminent default” and “will continue to default on its obligations in several key ways,” noting that each gives the state the right to take the land back contractually.

The first way, the suit states, is that the company failed to commence “vertical construction of buildings and structures on Parcel A” of the site by Jan. 1, 2024. VinFast’s default, therefore, gives the state contractual rights to purchase the site.

As a result, the suit says, “it is now impossible for the Company to meet its contractual deadline to have an operational manufacturing plant on the Site by July 1, 2026,” and that the company admitted publicly that it will be unable to construct an operational facility until at least 2028.

The suit also alleges that new plans the company announced in March would not meet jobs or investment commitments to the state.

Additionally, Jackson’s suit said that since the facility wouldn’t be operational until 2028, it wouldn’t be able to meet its commitment of creating 1,750 jobs for the site by Dec. 31.

Finally, the suit stated that VinFast ceased operations on the site in December 2024.

“VinFast has failed to take any concrete action that shows it can and will fulfill its obligations to the state,” the suit says.

The state Justice Department notified VinFast in January that it had defaulted on its agreement and that the state intended to protect its investment by exercising its right to acquire the site, according to Jackson’s news release. In response, VinFast argued that it had met its construction deadlines and would have a facility opened on a delayed 2028 timeline. The state’s action seeks to protect taxpayer investments and enforce the commitments tied to the project, according to the release. 

“North Carolina will always compete aggressively for jobs and investment, but we also protect taxpayers by requiring the company to hold up its end of the deal,” Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said in the May news release. “VinFast has not fulfilled its commitments. Today’s action is about protecting taxpayers and getting the Chatham County mega-site back on the market to support future good-paying manufacturing jobs.”  

In 2022, the embattled company received a Job Development and Investment Grant of up to $316.1 million in state reimbursements over three decades, along with another $400 million incentive package from Chatham County, contingent on the company meeting its hiring goal of 7,500 and investing $4 billion.

Then Gov. Roy Cooper attended the groundbreaking in July 2023 with company officials.

The state was also spending $450 million on infrastructure around the site, including a new highway to gain access in and out of the site.

Merry Oaks Baptist Church, which stood on the border between Moncure and New Hill on the corner of Old US 1 and New Elam Church Road since 1888, met with a wrecking ball in June to make way for the highway.

The church, along with 27 homes and five businesses, had to forfeit its land under eminent domain to make way for the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s highway plans.

“NC Commerce, VinFast agree some parts of lawsuit should remain secret” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.