Covidien‘s (NYSE:COV) Nellcor patient monitoring subsidiary and CAS Medical (NSDQ:CASM) finally put to rest a legal battle over a contract dispute and a patent infringement claim.
Under the terms of the settlement Nellcor agreed to dismiss its patent litigation with prejudice in return for a $275,000 payment and a promise from CAS that it won’t pursue claims for legal fees or file lawsuits over "certain comparative advertising matters."
Nellcor filed the lawsuit in 2011, alleging that Branford, Conn.-based Nellcor broke a deal settling a patent infringement lawsuit by protesting the validity of a patent during a re-examination by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. In July 2012, Nellcor filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to bar CAS from further participating in the re-examination. The judge shot down that bid and another Nellcor motion to reconsider, according to court documents, and stayed the damages phase of the case relating to the breach of contract charge.
Last year the court granted a motion by CA to toss the breach of contract claim, ruling that the patent office’s re-examination of the patent is distinct from the patent itself. In August a federal judge tossed the breach of contract claim against CAS.
The companies didn’t offer much comment on the settlement, aside from a CAS regulatory filing announcing the news. CAS did note that the settlement doesn’t restrict current or future marketing of its cerebral oximeters.
