ePlus Inc. v. Lawson Software, Inc.

946 F. Supp. 2d 459, 2013 WL 2565253, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82630
District Court, E.D. Virginia·Decided June 11, 2013·No. Civil Action No. 3:09cv620·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBERT E. PAYNE, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the mandate, on remand, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, instructing this Court “to consider what changes are required to the terms of the injunction consistent with this opinion”1 and on defendant Lawson Software, Inc.’s (“Lawson”) MOTION PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 60 TO DISSOLVE OR MODIFY THE MAY 23, 2011 INJUNCTION, 2011 WL 2119410 (Docket No. 1011). For the reasons and to the extent set forth below, the injunction will be modified and Lawson’s MOTION PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 60 TO DISSOLVE OR MODIFY THE MAY 23, 2011 INJUNCTION (Docket No. 1011) will be denied.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

ePlus, Inc. (“ePlus”) filed this action against Lawson for infringement of three patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,023,683 (the “'683 Patent”), 6,055,516 (the “'516 Patent”), and 6,585,173 (the “'172 Patent”). Following a three week trial, a jury determined that the '683 Patent and '172 Patent were infringed and it found that the '562 Patent was not infringed. The jury further found that all asserted claims of the patents-in-suit were valid. On May 23, 2011, the Court issued a permanent injunction enjoining Lawson, its officers, agents, and employees and “any person in active concert or participation with them” “from directly or indirectly making, using, offering to sell, or selling within the United States or importing into the United States” certain product configurations (so-called Configurations Two, Three, and Five) and services. (Docket No. 729).

Lawson appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and ePlus cross-appealed. On November 21, 2012, the Court of Appeals issued its decision reversing-in-part, vacating-in-part, affirming-in-part and remanding the action. In its decision, the Court of Appeals found that claim 1 of the '172 patent and claim 3 of the '683 patent were invalid for indefiniteness. ePlus, Inc., 700 F.3d at 519-20. The Court of Appeals also held that claims 28 and 29 of the '683 patent were not “supported by substantial evidence” and vacated the judgment of in[461]*461fringement as to those claims. Id. at 521-22. The Court of Appeals, however, affirmed the finding of infringement as to claim 26 of the '683 patent and affirmed the breadth of the injunction (namely, that Lawson was enjoined from “servicing and maintaining products sold before the injunction issued”). Id. at 520, 522. Lawson had argued that, because “damages [were] not an issue in this case,” Lawson should not have been enjoined from “servicing and maintaining products sold before the injunction issued.” Id. at 522. The Federal Circuit noted that, although there was authority for the proposition that a company should be permitted to service products sold “free of liability,” in this case it was a result of “the district court’s enforcement of discovery rules [that] ePlus was not permitted to present any evidence of damages.” Id. The Federal Circuit noted “that does not mean that Lawson was authorized to sell products that infringe ePlus’s patent,” and affirmed the scope of the injunction. Id. The Court of Appeals, then, remanded the action for this Court “to consider what changed are required to the terms of the injunction, consistent with this opinion.” Id. at 523.

By Order dated November 27, 2012 (Docket No. 981), the parties were ordered to file statements of position setting forth their views as to the effect of the Federal Circuit’s opinion on how the injunction should be modified. ePlus filed its statement on December 10, 2013 (Docket No. 985); Lawson filed its statement on December 27, 2012 (Docket No. 990); and ePlus filed a reply on January 7, 2013 (Docket No. 993).

On December 21, 2012, ePlus filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc, the effect of which was to stay issuance of the mandate. Thereafter, Lawson took the view, with which the Court agreed, that the Court was without jurisdiction to modify the injunction until the Court of Appeals had issued its mandate. The petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc was denied on January 29, 2013. The mandate was received February 5, 2013 (Docket No. 1006).

All the while, the parties were engaged in discovery and briefing respecting contempt proceedings that ePlus had initiated because of Lawson’s alleged violations of the injunction. Additionally, on February 7, 2013, the lead counsel for ePlus suffered a fatal heart attack, and thereafter proceedings were slowed for a while.

In a telephone conference held on March 14, 2013, both parties were asked whether they intended to offer evidence respecting modification of the injunction. Both parties declined to offer evidence.

Subsequently, Lawson filed its MOTION PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 60 TO DISSOLVE OR MODIFY THE MAY 23, 2011 INJUNCTION (Docket No. 1011). An opposition (Docket No. 1027) and reply (Docket No. 1031) thereto were filed. Oral argument was held on April 9, 2013 (Tr. at Docket No. 1056).

DISCUSSION

Lawson argues that the appropriate analysis is for the Court to ask whether it would have issued the injunction if the state of the case had been then what it is following the Federal Circuit’s decision. If the Court concludes that an injunction would not have been appropriate, says Lawson, the Court should dissolve the injunction ab initio. Lawson Reply (Docket No. 1031) at 6-7 (“In light of these changed circumstances, the Court must go back and consider on the existing record whether an injunction could even issue based on the single remaining method claim.”). In the alternative, Lawson argues that the current record does not sup[462]*462port a continuation of the injunction as to the remaining claim.

ePlus takes the view that the Court should enter an order stating that the injunction “remains in full force and effect, with the lone exception that the injunction no longer applies to Configuration 2.” PI. Br. in Opp. (Docket No. 1027) at 1. ePlus also argues that the so-called “mandate rule” prohibits the Court from reevaluating the propriety vel non of the injunction. Id. at 4. Instead, ePlus maintains that the Court should simply accept the affirmance of the injunction as to all areas in which it would not be inconsistent with the Federal Circuit’s decision and issue an order clarifying that the injunction does not apply to those configurations for which the finding of infringement was vacated.

The Mandate Rule

“Few legal concepts are as firmly established as the doctrine that the mandate of a higher court is controlling as to matters within its compass.” United States v. Bell, 5 F.3d 64, 66 (4th Cir.1993). The so-called “mandate rule” is “nothing more than a specific application of the ‘law of the case’ doctrine.” Piambino v. Bailey, 757 F.2d 1112, 1120 (11th Cir.1985). When appellate courts have “executed their power in a cause before them, and their final decree or judgment requires some further act to be done, [they] cannot issue an execution, but shall send a special mandate to the court below to award it.” Sibbald v. United States, 37 U.S. 488, 492, 12 Pet. 488, 9 L.Ed. 1167 (1838). The Supreme Court in Sibbald went on to declare that:

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ePlus Inc. v. Lawson Software, Inc., 946 F. Supp. 2d 459, 2013 WL 2565253, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82630 (E.D. Va. 2013).

946 F. Supp. 2d 459 (ePlus Inc. v. Lawson Software, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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