Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. LG Elecs., Inc.

344 F. Supp. 3d 890
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedSeptember 25, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 2:14-CV-00911-JRG LEAD CASE; CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:14-CV-00912-JRG Consolidated member case
StatusPublished

This text of 344 F. Supp. 3d 890 (Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. LG Elecs., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. LG Elecs., Inc., 344 F. Supp. 3d 890 (E.D. Tex. 2018).

Opinion

RODNEY GILSTRAP, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

*893Before the Court is Defendants LG Electronics, Inc. and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc.'s (collectively, "LG" or "Defendants") Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, and for a New Trial, in the -912 Case (Invalidity) (No. 2:14-cv-911, Dkt. No. 616) ("the Motion"). Having considered the Motion, and for the reasons set forth below, the Court finds that the Motion should be and hereby is DENIED .

I. BACKGROUND

On September 26, 2014, Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. ("Plaintiff" or "Core") filed suit against LG, alleging infringement of, among others, United States Patent Nos. 6,633,536 ("the '536 Patent") and 7,804,850 ("the '850 Patent") (collectively, the "Asserted Patents"). Trial took place from September 12-16, 2016.

On November 2, 2016, the Court entered final judgment holding: (1) that LG infringed Claim 19 of the '536 Patent and Claim 21 of the '850 Patent ; (2) that Claim 19 of the '536 Patent and Claim 21 of the '850 Patent were not invalid; (3) that Core be awarded $2,280,000 in damages; (4) that LG's infringement was willful; and (5) that Core be awarded $456,000 as enhanced damages pursuant to LG's willful infringement. (No. 2:14-cv-912, Dkt. No. 47 at 3.)

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

"A motion for judgment as a matter of law [under Rule 50(b) ] is a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's verdict." Erfindergemeinschaft UroPep GbR v. Eli Lilly & Co. , 276 F.Supp.3d 629, 643 (E.D. Tex. 2017) (" UroPep ") (Bryson, J., sitting by designation). Entry of judgment as a matter of law is therefore only appropriate when "there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find as the jury did." Guile v. United States , 422 F.3d 221, 225 (5th Cir. 2005) ; see also Baisden v. I'm Ready Prods., Inc. , 693 F.3d 491, 498 (5th Cir. 2012) ("A district court must deny a motion for judgment as a matter of law unless the facts and inferences point so strongly and overwhelmingly in the movant's favor that reasonable jurors could not reach a contrary conclusion.") (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks omitted).1

"In evaluating a motion for judgment as a matter of law, a court must 'draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the verdict.' " Metaswitch Networks Ltd. v. Genband US LLC , No. 2:14-CV-00744-JRG, 2017 WL 3704760, at *2 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 28, 2017) (quoting E.E.O.C. v. Boh Bros. Const. Co., L.L.C. , 731 F.3d 444, 451 (5th Cir. 2013) ). Courts must also avoid the temptation of revisiting credibility determinations or reweighing evidence. Id. Such determinations are, appropriately, left to the jury. Montano v. Orange Cty., Texas , 842 F.3d 865, 874 (5th Cir. 2016) ("[I]t is for the jury alone to *894judge the credibility of witnesses and weigh the evidence.").

B. Motion for New Trial

Rule 59 provides that a new trial may be granted on all or part of the issues on which there has been a trial by jury for "any reason for which a new trial has heretofore been granted in an action at law in federal court." Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a). Notwithstanding the broad sweep of Rule 59, "courts do not grant new trials unless it is reasonably clear that prejudicial error has crept into the record or that substantial justice has not been done, and the burden of showing harmful error rests on the party seeking the new trial." Metaswitch , No. 2:14-cv-00744-JRG, 2017 WL 3704760, at *2 ; UroPep , 276 F.Supp.3d at 643. "A new trial may be granted, for example, if the district court finds the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, the damages awarded are excessive, the trial was unfair, or prejudicial error was committed in its course." Smith v. Transworld Drilling Co. , 773 F.2d 610, 612-13 (5th Cir. 1985) ; see also Laxton v. Gap Inc. , 333 F.3d 572, 586 (5th Cir. 2003) ("A new trial is warranted if the evidence is against the great, and not merely the greater, weight of the evidence.").2

C. Enablement and Written Description

"The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same." 35 U.S.C. § 112(a). The Federal Circuit has consistently held that this statute sets forth two separate and distinct requirements, known as "enablement" and "written description." Ariad Pharms., Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co. , 598 F.3d 1336, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2010). Although distinct, the doctrines of written description and enablement are related and "often rise and fall together." Id.

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Bluebook (online)
344 F. Supp. 3d 890, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/core-wireless-licensing-sarl-v-lg-elecs-inc-txed-2018.