Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) lost its bid Monday to have the U.S. Supreme Court toss a decision awarding $112 million in royalties to an Indiana spine surgeon-turned-inventor. The court declined to hear a petition by Medtronic to overturn an appeals court decision that allowed the jury’s award to Dr. Rick Sasso to stand. Sasso won the royalties decision in […]
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court kicks Arthrex case back to patent board
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges are unconstitutionally appointed, but that greater supervision by the PTAB director would solve the problem. The opinion in the case followed a 2019 appeals court ruling in the closely watched patent spat between Arthrex and Smith+Nephew (NYSE:SNN). In the original lawsuit, Smith+Nephew and ArthroCare (which Smith+Nephew acquired in 2014) petitioned […]
Supreme Court upholds Affordable Care Act again
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned back a third Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this time by a 7-2 vote. The latest challenge to the law popularly known as Obamacare came from Texas and other states, backed by the administration of former President Donald Trump. The justices ruled that the challengers lacked legal standing […]
Supremes extend deadline for False Claim Act cases
The U.S. Supreme Court today effectively extended the deadline on whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act, even when the feds decline to intervene, in a unanimous decision. Under the FCA, a case must be filed within six years of a violation or three years from the date when the facts are known or […]
Supreme Court won’t review $3m pelvic mesh loss for J&J’s Ethicon
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to review a $3 million loss for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon in a product liability lawsuit brought over its TVT-O pelvic mesh. A jury in the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia originally awarded Jo Huskey and her husband damages of $3.3 million, finding in September 2014 that the TVT-O transvaginal sling […]
AdvaMed backs Johnson & Johnson in Supreme Court appeal of $3m pelvic mesh loss
The medical device industry’s largest national lobbying group, AdvaMed, is backing Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon in its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over a $3.3 million loss in a product liability lawsuit brought over its TVT-O pelvic mesh. A jury in the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia awarded Jo Huskey and her husband damages […]
Two Supreme Court decisions take a whack at patent holders
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions signal an effort to shoot down patent trolls, but one expert says small business could get caught in the crosshairs. Recent Supreme Court decisions dealing with patents have some experts concerned that, rather than clarifying the rules and combating patent trolls, the rulings will instead weaken the rights of patent […]
Boston Scientific wants Supreme Court to toss $309m patent loss to ICD pioneer Mirowski
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) asked the U.S. Supreme Court this month to toss a Maryland state court decision over cardiac rhythm management device patents that awarded more than $309 million to the family of the late physician who helped invent the implantable cardioverter defibrillator, Dr. Michel Mirowski. Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific lost the judgment in September 2014, part of a […]
Supreme Court grants Stryker another chance at $228m patent award from Zimmer
The U.S. Supreme Court today ordered an appeals court to reconsider whether the damages should be trebled in Stryker‘s (NYSE:SYK) $70 million patent infringement win over Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH), relaxing the standard for enhanced damages awards in patent infringement cases. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2014 rolled back the original $228 million verdict, finding that Stryker failed to […]
Supremes remand Medtronic lawsuit against NuVasive to lower court
The U.S. Supreme Court today remanded a Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) lawsuit against longtime spinal implant rival NuVasive Inc. (NSDQ:NUVA) to a lower appeals court, after deciding last year that a defendant’s belief regarding patent validity is not a defense to an induced infringement claim. Last July Medtronic asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […]
Supremes deny Gore in $1B stent graft loss to Bard
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to review W.L. Gore‘s infringement loss to C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) over stent graft patents, leaving Gore on the hook for more than $1 billion in damages owed to Bard. After the Federal Circuit Appeals Court in January upheld a judgment of willful infringement, tacking on an extra $205 million to the $854 million already […]
