Beaver Cloth Cutting Machines, Inc. v. H. Maimin Co.

37 F.R.D. 47, 144 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 181, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7855
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedOctober 19, 1964
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 37 F.R.D. 47 (Beaver Cloth Cutting Machines, Inc. v. H. Maimin Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beaver Cloth Cutting Machines, Inc. v. H. Maimin Co., 37 F.R.D. 47, 144 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 181, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7855 (S.D.N.Y. 1964).

Opinion

TENNEY, District Judge.

Plaintiff moves herein for the appointment of a Master to hear and determine an accounting of defendant to plaintiff.

During the course of oral argument and in its affidavit in opposition, defendant requests the Court to stay the accounting upon the posting of a supersedeas bond in a nominal sum, to be set by the Court, or that the accounting be stayed without the posting of a bond.

The within action is for patent infringement. The case was heard by the Honorable Frederick L. Wham, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois, a visiting Judge in this District. After a five-day trial without a jury, Judge Wham rendered an opinion in which he held plaintiff’s patent relating to a sharpener device in a cloth-cutting machine valid and infringed by defendant, and enjoined defendant from infringing said patent by making, using or selling defendant’s model H cloth-cutting machine or any other cloth-cutting machine embodying the invention of the said claims. He ordered that defendant account for all of its profits and damages, adequate to compensate plaintiff, arising from the infringement with the costs of the action and interest, and that the accounting be before a Master agreed upon by counsel of the respective parties.

The order also provided that defendant pay plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees, as determined by the Master. The “So Ordered” opinion was rendered on June 1, 1964. It would appear that a judgment was entered on June 10, 1964. On June 22,1964, defendant filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from Judge Wham’s decision and decree, together with a $250. cost bond.

On the basis of the notice of appeal, defendant refused to agree to the appointment of a Master and requested of plaintiff to voluntarily stay the accounting pending a disposition of the appeal —which request was denied by plaintiff. Plaintiff accordingly filed the motion herein to have the Court appoint a Master so that the parties may proceed with the accounting.

Rule 62(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides in pertinent part:

“Unless otherwise ordered by the court, an interlocutory or final judgment in an action for an injunction or in a receivership action, or a judgment or order directing an accounting in an action for infringement of letters patent, shall not be stayed during the period after its entry and until an appeal is taken or during the pendency of an appeal.”

I might observe initially that the fact that Judge Wham did not “otherwise” order is of no consequence in the determination of the present dispute. At the time of Judge Wham’s decision, he did not know nor could he assume that an appeal would be taken from his decision [49]*49and that thereafter one of the parties would request the Court to stay the accounting with or without the posting of a bond. Accordingly, he had no reason to pass upon this phase of the matter.

I might further observe that plaintiff’s argument that defendant could have stayed the accounting by merely posting a supersedeas bond under Rule 73(d) is not well taken. Rule 73 governs the form and sufficiency of the supersedeas bond which may be given by a party who is entitled to a stay on appeal. However, “[t]he conditions under which a stay of the enforcement of the judgment may be obtained pending appeal are covered by Rule 62.” 3A Barron & Holtzoff, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1557, at 82 (1958) ; see 7 Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 73.20 (2d ed. 1955).

A plain reading of Rule 62 reveals that under subdivision (d) a stay may be obtained by the giving of a supersedeas bond in most eases “subject to the exceptions contained in subdivision (a)” of the rule, (see 3 Barron & Holtzoff, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1374 (1958); 7 Moore, Federal Practice ¶[ 62.06 (2d ed. 1955)), and as noted above subdivision (a) states that there shall be no stay “[u]nless otherwise ordered by the court.”

Thus it seems clear that the mere filing of a supersedeas bond does not stay the accounting pending appeal unless the Court so orders. See 3 Barron & Holtzoff, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1371 (1958).

Furthermore, defendant’s reliance on subdivision (c) of Rule 62 as being dis-positive of the issues presented herein is equally not well taken.

Subdivision (c) by its language deals with an appeal taken from an interlocutory or final judgment which granted, dissolved or denied an injunction. On motion the Court in its discretion “may suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction during the pendency of the appeal upon such terms as to bond or otherwise as it considers proper for the security of the rights of the adverse party.” Thus the discussion concerning the filing of the bond in Rule 62(c) and the criteria to be employed is limited to the situation wherein the moving party desires the Court in its discretion to “suspend, modify, restore or grant an injunction during the pendency of the appeal.” While in the within action there is an injunction in effect, defendant does not request the Court to stay its effect nor does defendant ask the Court to modify, suspend or restore it, pending the appeal. Thus, while Rule 62(c) may by analogy be helpful in the within situation as will be noted infra, it is, by its terms, limited to an injunction situation and, accordingly, is inapplicable to the problem posed herein.

The narrow issue presented is whether this Court in the present posture of the case should “otherwise” order under Rule 62(a) and either stay the accounting without the posting of a supersedeas bond, or require the posting of a bond; and, if so, in what amount?

Plaintiff agreed to stay the.accounting voluntarily if defendant would post a bond of “six figures”, asserting that irrespective of which measure of damages is applied by the Master its recovery will not be less than $70,000. plus reasonable attorneys’ fees. Defendant, on the other hand, requests that the bond be set in a nominal sum.

Section 1292(a) (4) of Title 28 of the United States Code (28 U.S.C. § 1292(a) (4) (1949)) provides for interlocutory appeals from judgments in civil actions for patent infringement which are final except for accounting. The purpose of authorizing an appeal after a decree of validity and infringement and before an accounting is to prevent the useless waste of time and money for an accounting before the Court of Appeals has had an opportunity to pass on the propriety of the lower court’s finding of validity and infringement, which, of course, will definitively determine wheth[50]*50er there will in fact be an accounting. McCullough v. Kammerer Corp., 331 U.S. 96, 98-99, 67 S.Ct. 1165, 91 L.Ed. 1365 (1947); Patterson-Ballagh Corp. v. Moss, 201 F.2d 403, 408 (9th Cir.1953); 6 Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 54.06 [6] (2d ed. 1953). The reason for the statute is readily apparent from the case that plaintiff cites in support of its argument, for the lower court decision finding validity and infringement in Gross v. JFD Mfg. Co., 207 F.Supp. 631 (E.D.N.Y. 1962) was subsequently reversed on appeal.

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37 F.R.D. 47, 144 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 181, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7855, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beaver-cloth-cutting-machines-inc-v-h-maimin-co-nysd-1964.