Devex Corporation v. Houdaille Industries, Inc.

382 F.2d 17, 154 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 384, 1967 U.S. App. LEXIS 5654
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 12, 1967
Docket15732_1
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 382 F.2d 17 (Devex Corporation v. Houdaille Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Devex Corporation v. Houdaille Industries, Inc., 382 F.2d 17, 154 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 384, 1967 U.S. App. LEXIS 5654 (7th Cir. 1967).

Opinion

*19 MAJOR, Senior Circuit Judge.

This appeal is a continuation of litigation of long duration. On November 13, 1956, plaintiffs filed their complaint against General Motors and Metal Lubricants Company for infringement of Henricks Patent Re. 24,017, dated June 7, 1955. On May 22, 1957, plaintiffs filed a companion case against the instant defendant (Houdaille Industries, Inc.), for infringement of the same pat-tent. In both cases plaintiffs relied solely upon Claim 4. The cases were consolidated on the common issue of validity, and Judge Robson held the Hen-ricks patent invalid. On appeal, this Court reversed, held the claim valid and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the opinion. Devex Corp. et al. v. General Motors Corp. et al., 7 Cir., 321 F.2d 234, cert. den. 375 U.S. 971, 84 S.Ct. 490, 11 L.Ed. 2d 418. Upon remand, the case against Metal Lubricants Company was dismissed by consent and that against General Motors, on motion by plaintiffs, was transferred to the District of Delaware.

In the instant case plaintiffs moved for a summary judgment that defendant had infringed Claim 4 of the Henricks patent, which was first denied. After further deposition testimony was taken, plaintiffs renewed their motion and on February 17, 1966, it was allowed. The ease is here on defendant’s appeal from this judgment.

On June 23, 1965, prior to plaintiffs’ renewed motion for summary judgment, defendant, with leave of the Court, filed an amended answer setting up additional defenses, including (a) license, (b) laches, (c) prior public use by defendant, (d) shop right, (e) patent misuse, (f) intervening rights, (g) lack of continuity between the original patent and the preceding abandoned application and (h) release. The amended answer allegedly was based upon facts ascertained from the May 17, 1965 deposition of Henricks. In connection with its amended answer defendant moved for the production of documents, which was denied.

The Court in its summary judgment decreed infringement of Claim 4, enjoined defendant from further infringement and referred the case to a Special Master to hear and submit to the Court findings on the issue of damages. The judgment also provided for a determination by the Master of the affirmative defenses invoked by defendant. On March 3, 1966, defendant’s motion to vacate the summary judgment was denied.

The companion ease of General Motors, transferred to the Delaware District as previously shown, was heard by Judge Caleb M. Wright on plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. In a well reasoned opinion the Court concluded that summary judgment was inappropriate and denied such relief. Devex Corp. et al. v. General Motors Corp., 263 F.Supp. 17. Concerning the Delaware case, defendant on brief states, “So far as infringement is concerned, the issues there are substantially identical with those involved here.” Plaintiffs take no issue with this statement, in fact do not even mention the case although it was decided more than two months prior to the date on which plaintiffs’ brief was filed in this Court, with the same counsel representing plaintiffs in both cases.

In the interest of brevity, we refer to our previous opinion written by Judge Duffy, for a history of plaintiffs’ patent, its purpose and scope, the claim relied upon and the reasoning on which validity was sustained.

At the inception we are met with plaintiffs’ challenge that the order under attack is not appealable and should be dismissed. Defendant responds that we have jurisdiction under Par. (a) (1) or (4) of Sec. 1292, Title 28 U.S.C.A. The former provides jurisdiction of an appeal from an order granting an injunction, the latter from judgments for patent infringement which are final except for accounting. Plaintiffs cite a number of cases in support of the point that “an appeal from an interlocutory order grant *20 ing an injunction brings up for review nothing but the propriety of granting the injunction,” and such appeal “does not bring up for review those parts of the decree which affect only the reference to a Master and bear no necessary relation to the merits of the injunction.”

In Loew’s Drive-In Theatres, Inc. v. Park-In Theatres, Inc., 1 Cir., 174 F.2d 547, 550, the Court stated:

“Our jurisdiction over this cause of action on appeal, however, is another matter. For although injunctive relief is granted in the judgment appealed.from and we have appellate jurisdiction over such judgments under 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1292 (1) even though interlocutory, we have jurisdiction to review only that part of such judgments as have to do with the injunctive relief afforded and no other.”

In Racine Engine & Machinery Co. v. Confectioners’ Machinery & Mfg. Co., 7 Cir., 234 F. 876, 878, speaking to the same point, this Court stated: "

“ * * * jf and after the patent is sustained, infringement found, arid injunction awarded, upon appeal this court may finally determine the validity of the patent, and its determination is binding on the District Court.”

These and other cases cited by plaintiffs recognize that a court with jurisdiction to hear an appeal from an injunction order must necessarily have jurisdiction to consider the propriety of the premise upon which the injunction issued. As applied to the instant case, our authority to consider the propriety of the injunction carries with it the authority to consider the infringement issue upon which the injunction issued. It may be that we are without authority to consider the affirmative defenses interposed by defendant prior to the entry of the summary judgment and referred to the Master for decision. We need not be concerned in this regard, however, because, assuming we have such authority, we would not be disposed to exercise it in the absence of a ruling by the court below on such issues. We hold that we have jurisdiction of the appeal from the injunction order and of the infringement issue upon which it is predicated.

Plaintiffs also contend that defendant has no standing to complain of the order enjoining it from further infringement, on the basis that it consented to and openly invited its entry, thereby waiving any right to complain of error. We see no reason to cite or discuss the cases cited in support of this contention. They are without application to the facts of the case.

In this connection plaintiffs place much emphasis on the assertion that the judgment order was proposed by defendant. True, it was so labeled, but there clearly emerges, on a confusing record, the fact that defendant did not consent to or invite the order, particularly that part which enjoined it from further infringement. Plaintiffs attached to their original and again to their renewed motion for summary judgment a form of proposed judgment. The Court in an oral decision granted plaintiffs’ renewed motion and, at the Court’s suggestion, plaintiffs submitted a revised form of judgment. On February 16, 1966, defendant served on plaintiffs a “Notice of Motion,” notifying them that defendant “without waiving any rights

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Bluebook (online)
382 F.2d 17, 154 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 384, 1967 U.S. App. LEXIS 5654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/devex-corporation-v-houdaille-industries-inc-ca7-1967.