Volcano Corp. and subsidiary loses court decision against Lightlab Imaging Inc.

February 5, 2010 by MassDevice staff

A Massachusetts Superior Court jury ruled against Volcano Corp. (NSDQ:VOLC) and one of its subsidiaries in a breach of contract lawsuit filed by a Westford, Mass.-based imaging manufacturer.

The jury found that Volcano's Axsun Technologies unit, a Billerica, Mass.-based maker of MEMS-based optical engines for medical imaging products, violated a contract it had signed with Lightlab Imaging Inc. prior to it being acquired by San Diego, Calif.-based medical device maker Volcano in December 2008.

Axsun had inked a pact to supply tunable lasers to Lightlab until 2016, according to a press release. According to the terms of the deal, Axsun agreed not to sell any of its lasers for use in other cardiology imaging applications during the life of the contract. But Volcano has several products that use the technology, which Lightlab officials felt violated terms of the deal.

The jury agreed, saying that Volcano intentionally interfered with Lightlab's advantageous business relationship with Axsun. However, the jury was not charged with assessing any damages and a second jury trial is expected to determine their extent. Volcano officials said they plan to appeal the decision.

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