Willfulness claim was summarily dismissed in an ANDA case; decision on exceptional case was reserved
Farnan, J. Defendants' motion for summary judgment of no willful infringement was granted. The Court reserved decision as to whether summary disposition of the exceptional case issue was appropriate.
Allegations of a baseless ANDA filing along with allegations of deliberate copying with no allegations of commercial activity on the part of the defendants are insufficient to take this case outside the Federal Circuit decisions in Glaxo and Yamanouchi insofar as willfulness is concerned. The Court accordingly found that plaintiffs could not as a matter of law maintain a claim for willful infringement and granted summary judgment of no willful infringement. Allegations regarding the filing of a baseless ANDA application together with allegations of litigation misconduct can support an “exceptional case” determination. However, discovery related to exceptional case was ongoing, and the Court reserved judgment and would allow summary judgment briefing on the question of exceptional case after the close of discovery.
A copy of the full opinion is available here.
