United States Federal Circuit
A123 Sys., Inc. v. Hydro-Quebec, 10-1059
In plaintiff's suit seeking a declaration of noninfringement and invalidity of two patents related to a genus of lithium based cathode materials, district court's denial of plaintiff's motion to reopen and dismissal of the declaratory judgment action is affirmed where: 1) because the defendant had acquired less than all substantial rights in the patents in suit, University of Texas (UT) is a necessary party to plaintiff's declaratory judgment action; 2) UT's waiver of Eleventh Amendment immunity in a patent infringement suit in the Northern District of Texas did not result in a waiver of immunity in this separate infringement action, and absent such a waiver, UT cannot be joined; and 3) because three of the four Rule 19(b) factors weigh in favor of holding UT to be an indispensable party, UT was not only a necessary party, but also and indispensable party, making dismissal appropriate.
Appellate Information
- Decided 11/10/2010
- Published 11/10/2010
Judges
Court
- United States Federal Circuit
Counsel
- For Appellant:
- Wayne L. Stoner, Darryl J. Adams