Braun v. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc.

141 F. Supp. 3d 1177, 92 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1407, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143316, 2015 WL 6394438
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedOctober 21, 2015
DocketCase No. 2:10-CV-001283
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 141 F. Supp. 3d 1177 (Braun v. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braun v. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc., 141 F. Supp. 3d 1177, 92 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1407, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143316, 2015 WL 6394438 (D. Utah 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

ROBERT J. SHELBY, District Judge.

A ten-day jury trial in this case resulted in a verdict in favor of Plaintiff John T. Braun, M.D., on his claims for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, trade secret misappropriation, and -fraudulent inducement. The jury also awarded Dr. Braun punitive damages after finding that Defendant Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc. acted willfully and maliciously, or with reckless indifference ■ toward Dr. Braun’s rights. Medtronic now moves for judgment on these claims as, a' matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b) (Dkt. 648); or . alternatively for a new trial under Rule 59 (Dkt. 647). In turn, Dr. Braun moves to limit the scope of Med-tronic’s Rule 50(b) motion (Dkt. 657), and asks the court to sanction Medtronic for improperly, withholding evidence in discovery. (Dkt. 678.).

[1182]*1182Given the extensive briefing on these motions and the court’s familiarity with the issues and evidence, oral argument is unnecessary. For the reasons stated below, Dr. Braun’s motion to limit the scope of Medtronic’s Rule 50(b) motion is granted. The three remaining motions are denied.

BACKGROUND

Dr. Braun is an orthopedic spine surgeon. He invented a device and method to treat pediatric scoliosis surgically, without requiring spinal fusion. In general, the invention was a method of so-called “active correction” of spinal curvature using tethered bone-anchor screws that are surgically placed in the vertebrate. Medtronic is a medical device company that does business in many areas, including the treatment of scoliosis. In October 1999, Dr. Braun disclosed his invention to Medtronic, and the parties negotiated Medtronic’s licensing of his invention. In April 2000, the parties signed an agreement in which Medtronic contracted to pay Dr. Braun a lump sum of $200,000 and a five percent royalty on each sale of a licensed device.

Dr. Braun’s business relationship with Medtronic later deteriorated, leading Dr. Braun to file this lawsuit in December 2010. Extensive motion practice ensued. Several pretrial motions are relevant to the issues now before the court. First, Medtronic filed after the close of discovery a number of motions for summary judgment, including a motion seeking judgment on Dr. Braun’s trade secret misappropriation claim. Medtronic’s motion was based, in part, on the fact that Dr. Braun styled his claim as one arising under common law. Medtronic’s moving papers correctly noted that Utah eliminated common law claims for trade secret theft when it adopted a preemptive statutory basis for recovery. Dr. Braun responded to Med-tronic’s motion substantively, and also sought leave to make a technical correction to the heading of the claim in his operative .complaint, clarifying that the claim arose under the Utah statute. The court allowed the requested amendment, noting that the substance of the claim was unchanged and that Medtronic was not unfairly prejudiced by the purely technical amendment.

Following resolution of the motions for summary judgment, the case was set for trial on Dr. Braun’s claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraudulent inducement, trade secret misappropriation, and tortious interference with prospective economic relations. The parties then filed numerous pretrial motions in limine. Important to the issues addressed below, Medtronic filed a pretrial Daubert motion seeking to exclude at trial the testimony of Dr. Braun’s damages expert, Michael Collins (the Collins Daubert Motion). After receiving argument from the parties during a pretrial motion hearing, the court declined to exclude Mr. Collins’ testimony. However, the court stated it would “consider a timely objection at trial if there’s— if it turns out there just is not a sufficient foundation provided for this testimony at trial.” (Dkt. 530, p. 36.).

The case then proceeded to trial. Mr. Collins testified at the trial without contemporaneous objection by Medtronic concerning the adequacy of the foundation for his opinions. After the close of Dr. Braun’s case in chief, Medtronic purported to renew the Collins Daubert Motion, and then made an oral motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a) for judgment as a matter of law. Medtronic timely renewed the Rule 50(a) motion at the close of all evidence. (Dkt. 657, p. v.) The court reserved the motion.

After deliberating for two days, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Dr. Braun on [1183]*1183all of Ms claims, save for tortious interference with economic relations. The jury awarded $16 million on the breach of contract claims, nominal damages of $2 on the' trade secret misappropriation claim, and $25,050,000 on Dr. Braun’s fraudulent inducement claim. After finding by clear and convincing evidence that Medtronic’s conduct was willful and malicious, or manifested a reckless indifference - to Dr. Braun’s rights; the jury - awarded Dr. Braun $12 million in punitive damages. To avoid overlapping damages on alternative claims, the court entered judgment in the amount of $37,050,002. (Dkt. 588.).

Medtronic then moved for judgment as a matter of law or, in the alternative, for a new trial. (Dkt. Nos.. 647, 648.) Dr. Braun opposed these motions, moved, to limit the scope of. Medtronic’s motion for judgment as a matter of law (Dkt. 657), and moved for sanctions against Medtronic. (Dkt. 678.).

The court reviews these motions in turn, beginning with Dr. Braun’s motion to limit the scope of Medtronic’s Rule 50(b) motion for judgment as a matter of law. As explained below, the court finds the motion to be well taken. In view of that decision, the court then addresses those portions of Medtronic’s Rule 50(b) motion that were properly preserved at trial, before taking up Medtronic’s Rule 59 motion for a new trial. Finally, the court considers Dr. Braun’s motion for ¡sanctions.

DISCUSSION

I. Dr. Braun’s Motion to Limit the Scope of Medtronic’s Rule 50(b) Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

A. Standard of Review

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a) allows a party during trial to move for judgment as a matter of law before the case is submitted to the jury. The motion must “specify the judgment sought and the law and facts that entitle the movant to the judgment.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a)(2). If that motion is not granted, the matter is deemed submitted to the jury. After a jury returns its verdict, a party may “file a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b). In combination, Rule 50(a) and Rule 50(b) limit the scope of posttrial motions for judgment as a matter of law tó those issues presented to the court before the jury deliberates.

The parties in the instant case disagree about the purposes of Rule 50 and its specificity, preservation, and renewal requirements. Medtronic seeks to avoid a “technical, rigid” application of Rule 50, arguing that the court may consider m its Rule 50(b) motion any arguments Dr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
141 F. Supp. 3d 1177, 92 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1407, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143316, 2015 WL 6394438, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braun-v-medtronic-sofamor-danek-inc-utd-2015.