Winning Verdict for ZOLL Medical in Patent Case

08.2017

Irell & Manella LLP handed ZOLL Medical Corp. a win on August 3, 2017, when a federal jury rejected Philips’s damages claim for $217 million and ordered the firm's client to pay a net verdict of $7.1 million to Philips for infringing defibrillator technology patents. After deliberating for two days, the jury awarded Philips just three percent of the amount it sought in the trial in the District of Massachusetts to determine damages.

Irell was retained after ZOLL had already lost the 2013 liability trial. Irell first persuaded the court to stay the damages phase of the case pending the parties’ cross-appeals of the liability verdict. On appeal, the Federal Circuit decision handed multiple victories to ZOLL, including overturning the jury verdict that several asserted patent claims were not invalid as anticipated. The Federal Circuit also rejected one of the principal bases on which Philips had sought to predicate its damage case against ZOLL.

Philips sought $217 million on its claims against ZOLL, and ZOLL sought $3.3 million on its claims against Philips. The jury awarded $10.4 million to Philips and $3.3 million to ZOLL, resulting in a net verdict of $7.1 million to Philips. The jury also found that ZOLL did not willfully infringe.

The trial team included Morgan Chu, Alan Heinrich and Rebecca Carson. David McPhie provided support to the trial team. 

The patents-in-suit were Philips’ U.S. Patent Nos. 5,879,374, 5,607,454 and 5.749,905 and ZOLL’s U.S. Patent. Nos. 5,391,187 and 5,330,526.

The case is Koninklijke Philips N.V. et al v. ZOLL Medical Corp. (1:10-cv-11041-NMG, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts).

For additional information, see articles in Reuters, Law360 and The Recorder (registration required).