In additional to touting a 53% spike in sales, AngioDynamics’ (NSDQ:ANGO) 1st-quarter earnings report detailed a raft of ongoing lawsuits over infringed patents, jilted employees and soured distribution agreements.
The Albany, N.Y.-based company provided updates on 6 ongoing lawsuits, including a pair of distribution disputes with Cardinal Health and Biolitec (ETR:BIB).
AngioDynamics recently won $16.5 million in partial damages against German medical laser maker Biolitec after Judge Lawrence Kahn of the U.S. District Court for Northern New York ruled that Biolitec, which provided laser vein ablation technology to AngioDynamics, failed to defend and indemnify the medical device company in lawsuits filed against it by Diomed and Covidien (NYSE:COV) subsidiary VNUS Medical Technologies.
AngioDynamics also found itself embroiled in a lawsuit between Cardinal Health and Navilyst Medical, the vascular device business spun out by Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) and which AngioDynamics acquired earlier this year for about $372 million.
Cardinal sued Navilyst late last year over claims that Navilyst decision to terminate an international distribution agreement, according to the SEC filing. Both sides have agreed to stay proceedings on that case until they can resolve a related lawsuit brought by Cardinal Health against a trio of former employees who are now part of AngioDynamics.
Navilyst was also the center of an unrelated lawsuit with Merit Medical (NSDQ:MMSI) over patents related to fluid management systems, according to a regulatory filing. Navilyst brought the suit against Merit in November 2011, and the partied entered into a settlement and license agreement, dismissing the case in August 2012.
AngioDynamics is still in the midst of a pair of separate patent infringement lawsuits brought by Cirrex Systems and C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR).
Cirrex sued AngioDynamics earlier this year, claiming that certain endovenous ablation products infringed on Cirrex’s patents. AngioDynamics filed a response earlier this month denying the infringement and asserting counterclaims, the company reported.
In January 2012 Bard sued AngioDynamics for alleged infringement of patents related to implantable port products. AngioDynamics filed petitions for reexamination with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, seeking to invalidate all 3 of Bard’s allegedly infringed patents, the company said.
Last, but not least, AngioDynamics provided an update on a lawsuit filed in July 2011 by former employee Joseph Pierre, who claimed that the was discriminated against because he is an African American, according to the regulatory filing.
The New York State Division of human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dual-filed a complaint against AngioDynamics, but at the conclusion of th investigation the division returned a "no probable cause" finding and dismissed the complaint in January of this year.
In May Pierre filed a federal claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, which AngioDynamics believes are "without merit," the company reported.
ANGO shares gained modestly today, closing higher by 0.2% at $10.86.