Attempt To Set Aside Judgment Yields Exceptional Case Award

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding fees to the prevailing defendant in a suit brought in equity seeking to have a patent infringement judgment in favor of the patent owner/defendant set aside. Nova Chems. Corp. v. Dow Chem. Co., Case No. 16-1576 (Fed. Cir., May 11, 2017) (Prost, CJ).

This case relates to an alleged standing defect. In 2005, Dow brought an infringement action against Nova that resulted in a 2010 judgment against Nova for $61 million. That judgment ultimately became final, and Nova paid it. The case continued through a supplemental damages phase, and during discovery in that phase, Nova discovered new testimony by Dow's tax counsel in an unrelated litigation allegedly showing that Dow did not own the patents-in-suit, negating their standing. Nova alleged that Dow's counsel defrauded the Court both in misrepresenting Dow's ownership and in proffering expert testimony