Court denies attorney fees in patent infringement case
Farnan, J. Following a bench trial ruling in favor of plaintiffs’ claims of infringement, the Court denies plaintiffs’ request for attorney fees finding that defendants’ conduct, while sometimes questionable, did not rise to the “exceptional” level.
Plaintiffs brought an infringement action based on defendant, IVAX’s ANDA submission regarding a proposed generic product. Having stipulated to many of the claims, the only issue left for trial was the validity and enforceability of the patent-in-suit. Following a bench trial, the Court found for the plaintiffs. Subsequently, the Court granted Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment of No Willful Infringement and reserved judgment on the issue of whether defendants’ conduct warranted an award of attorney fees. After reviewing the evidence, the Court denied plaintiffs’ motion stating that the Court was not persuaded that defendants’ conduct reached the level of misconduct or vexatiosness seen in other cases such as Beckman, Aptix, or Semsonics.A full copy of the opinion is available here.
