United States Federal Circuit

In this case involving three patents for which the asserted claims recite systems for using a landline telephone connection for both voice communication and data transmission, plaintiff’s predecessor in interest (Inline) brought suit against defendants for direct infringement, and the jury returned a general verdict of non-infringement with respect to all of the asserted claims. Plaintiff, Inline’s successor, filed this action against defendants, charging them with infringing the same claims of the three patents that had been subject to a general jury verdict. Judgment of the district court dismissing the action on collateral estoppel grounds is reversed and the case is remanded, where it was error to apply collateral estoppel to a general jury verdict that could have rested on multiple grounds, simply because the first court held, in its judgment as a matter of law ruling, that the evidence would have been sufficient to support the jury’s verdict on either theory of liability presented to it.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/12/2015
• Published 02/12/2015

Judges

• Bryson

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel