ISN'T IT RICH? - American Business Media

PresentsJoin us for a special dinner and awards presentationhonoring outstanding teamwork and achievement.contracts that allowed USF&Gthe right to defend and settle anyclaims against it. In the end, a4-to-1 majority of judges agreed.FOR APPELLANT AMERICANRE-INSURANCE COMPANY (ATLANTA)Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz:Herbert Wachtell, Ben Germana,and associate MichaelMcDuffie. (They are in New York.)Wachtell led just for the appeal.Bates Carey Nicolaides: RobertBates, Jr., and Mark Sheridan.(They are in Chicago.) The firm wascocounsel for the trial and appeal.Grais & Ellsworth: David Grais.(He is in New York.) The firm was alsococounsel.FOR APPELLANTS ACE PROPERTY &CASUALTY COMPANY (PHILADELPHIA)AND CENTURY INDEMNITY COMPANY(PHILADELPHIA)Boies, Schiller & Flexner: GeorgeCarpinello and associate BenjaminBattles. (They are in Albany.)FOR APPELLANTS EXCESS AND CASUALTYREINSURANCE ASSOCIATION ANDONEBEACON AMERICA INSURANCECOMPANY (MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA)Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan:Jane Byrne, Michael Carlinsky,Kathleen Sullivan, SanfordWeisburst, and associates J. TojiCalabro and Brad Rosen. (Theyare in New York.) Quinn Emanuel wasbrought in in 2007, as discovery wasclosing, to represent ECRA and itspool members.FOR RESPONDENTS UNITED STATESFIDELITY & GUARANTY COMPANY ET AL.Simpson Thacher & Bartlett:Chet Kronenberg, Seth Ribner,Mary Kay Vyskocil, and associatesRobert Annis, Sarah Dunn,Ryan Kane, and Jonathan Weiss.(Vyskocil, Dunn, and Kane are in NewYork; the rest are in Los Angeles.)Vyskocil has represented USF&Gsince 2002; Travelers has been a clientof the firm for nearly 30 years.FOR AMICUS REINSURANCE ASSOCIATIONOF AMERICA (WASHINGTON, D.C.)Freeborn & Peters: Robin Dusek,Joseph McCullough IV, and associateKerry Slade. (Slade has sinceleft the firm; the others are in Chicago.)The firm was tapped by RAAbecause of its past work on behalf ofthe reinsurance industry.FOR AMICI COMPLEX INSURANCE CLAIMSLITIGATION ASSOCIATION (WASHINGTON,D.C.) AND CHARTIS INC. (NEW YORK)Chaffetz Lindsey: Peter Chaffetzand counsel AndreasFrischknecht. (They are in NewYork.)—Ross ToddSt. Jude et al. v.AccessClosurecessCseOn January 23, afternearly four years litigatingpatent infringementclaims, St. Jude Medical,Inc., won a $27.1 millionjudgment against a rival overtechnology used to close holesin arteries created during catheterizationprocedures. Federaldistrict court judge HarryBarnes in Texarkana, Texas,affirmed the jury’s finding ofwillful infringement against therival company, AccessClosure,Inc., leaving open the possibilityof treble damages.The judgment comes a littlemore than a year after heavyweightpatent litigators MorganChu of Irell & Manella (for St.Jude) and Charles Verhoevenof Quinn Emanuel Urquhart& Sullivan (for AccessClosure)squared off in a December 2010jury trial.St. Jude filed suit in October2008, claiming that AccessClosure’sMynx vascularclosure device infringed five ofits patents. St. Jude alleged in itscomplaint that it had obtainedthe five patents related to thevascular closure technology inthe late 1990s, and that rival AccessClosurewas aware that it wasinfringing on St. Jude’s patentsno later than 2005.AccessClosure filed a counterclaim,alleging that the St.Jude patents in question were invalidand unenforceable becauseof alleged disclosure lapses in St.Jude’s patent applications andother alleged improprieties.Jurors returned a somewhatcomplicated verdict, findingthat AccessClosure infringedthree patents but that one ofthe infringed patents was invalidbecause of double patenting.The jury awarded $27.1 millionin damages on the two patentsit found valid and willfullyinfringed.Judge Barnes took a closerlook at the double patenting issueduring a one-day bench triallast June, and in November hefound that double patenting doesnot apply to the St. Jude patentunder the patent code’s safeharbor provision.The judgment tees the caseup for a potential interlocutoryappeal to the U.S. Court of Appealsfor the Federal Circuit.FOR PLAINTIFFS ST. JUDE MEDICAL,INC. (ST. PAUL) ET AL.Irell & Manella: Morgan Chu,Andrei Iancu, Jonathan Steinberg,counsel Maclain Wells, andassociates C. Jay Chung, LauraEvans, Eric Hanson, and DougWinnard. (Evans is in Los Angelesand Newport Beach, California; therest are in Los Angeles.) The firm waslead counsel.Patton, Tidwell & Schroeder:Geoffrey Culbertson, NicholasPatton, and Robert Schroeder III.(They are in Texarkana, Texas.) Thefirm was local counsel.FOR DEFENDANT ACCESSCLOSURE,INC. (MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA)Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &Sullivan: Brian Cannon, DavidEiseman, Charles Verhoeven,and associates Linda Brewer andCathleen Garrigan. (Cannon is inRedwood Shores, California; the restare in San Francisco.) The firm led attrial; it did not respond to inquiries.Greer, Herz & Adams: J. ScottAndrews. (He is in Galveston,Texas.)Haltom & Doan: Darby Doanand James Haltom. (They are inTexarkana, Texas.) The firm was localcounsel.—R.T.E-mail: big.suits@alm.com.Sponsored in part by:N... and wherever youneed to be in Canada.Plug into Bennett Jones.