Estech Systems IP, LLC v. Mitel Networks, Inc.

District Court, E.D. Texas·Decided July 18, 2023·No. 2:21-cv-00473·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION

ESTECH SYSTEMS IP, LLC, § § Plaintiff, § § v. § CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:21-CV-00473-JRG-RSP § (LEAD CASE) MITEL NETWORKS, INC., § § Defendant. §

MEMORANDUM ORDER Before the Court are five motions to strike (Dkt. Nos. 387, 388, 389, 390, 391).1 As an initial matter, Estech’s Daubert Motion to Exclude Portions of the Expert Report and Proffered Testimony of Mitel’s Expert Witness, Regis J. Bates, Jr. (Dkt. No. 389) and Estech’s Daubert Motion to Exclude Portions of the Expert Report and Proffered Testimony of Defendant Mitel Networks Inc.’s Expert Witness, Dr. Walt Magnussen, Jr. (Dkt. No. 390) are DENIED as moot. See Joint Notice, Dkt. No. 403 at 1. There are now three motions pending before the Court: (1) Mitel’s Motion to Exclude Dr. Ramamirtham Sukumar (Dkt. No. 387); (2) Mitel’s Motion to Exclude the Opinions of Damages Expert Justin R. Blok (Dkt. No. 388); and (3) Estech’s Daubert Motion to Exclude Report and Testimony of Christopher Martinez (Dkt. No. 391). For the following reasons, the motions are DENIED.

1 Citations to docket and page number correspond to those assigned by ECF. I. BACKGROUND On December 30, 2021, Estech filed suit against Defendants2 alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,068,684 (the “’684 Patent”) and 7,123,699 (the “’699 Patent”) (collectively, the “Asserted Patents”).3 The Asserted Patents relate to “information processing systems, and in

particular, to the use of Voice over IP technology to transmit voice conversations.” ’699 Patent at 1:10–12; ’684 Patent at 1:6–8. The ’684 Patent is titled “Quality of Service in a Voice Over IP Telephone System,” and the ’699 Patent is titled “Voice Mail in a Voice Over IP Telephone System.” ’699 Patent at cover; ’684 Patent at cover. II. LAW In a suit for patent infringement, a successful plaintiff is entitled to “damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention by the infringer, together with interest and costs as fixed by the court.” 35 U.S.C. § 284. An assessment of the reasonable royalty generally involves opinions by expert witnesses.

An expert witness may provide opinion testimony if “(a) the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue; (b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data; (c) the testimony is the product

2 The initial allegations included claims of infringement against additional defendants that are no longer in the case. See e.g., Order Dismissing BMW, Dkt. No. 115; Order Dismissing Petco Defendants, Dkt. No. 163; Order Dismissing Charles Schwab Defendants, Dkt. No. 173; Order Dismissing SoFi Technologies, Dkt. No. 268; Order Dismissing Remaining SoFi Defendants, Dkt. No. 325; Order Dismissing Primoris Defendants, Dkt. No. 340; Order Dismissing Republic of Title and First American Financial, Dkt. No. 365; Order Granting Joint Motion to Stay and Notice of Settlement as to Abbott Labs, Fiserv Defendants, Marriott, and Randstad Defendants (Dkt. No. 382). 3 Estech’s initial complaint also asserted U.S. Patent Nos. 8,391,298 (the “’298 Patent”) and 6,067,349 (the “’349 Patent”), and this set of consolidated cases has been stayed as to the ’298 Patent and the ’349 Patent because the PTAB has issued final written decisions invalidating all of the claims asserted in these cases. See Order, Dkt. No. 258 at 1– 2. of reliable principles and methods; and (d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.” FED. R. EVID. 702. Rule 702 requires that judges act as gatekeepers to ensure “that an expert’s testimony both rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant to the task at hand.” Daubert v. Merrell Dow

Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). However, “[t]he inquiry envisioned by Rule 702 is ... a flexible one.” Id. at 594; see also Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 150 (1999) (“Daubert makes clear that the factors it mentions do not constitute a ‘definitive checklist or test.’”). While the party offering the expert bears the burden of showing that the testimony is reliable, it “need not prove to the judge that the expert’s testimony is correct....” Johnson v. Arkema, Inc., 685 F.3d 452, 459 (5th Cir. 1999) (citing Moore v. Ashland Chem. Inc., 151 F.3d 269, 276 (5th Cir. 1998)). Ultimately, “the question of whether the expert is credible or the opinion is correct is generally a question for the fact finder, not the court.” Summit 6, LLC v. Samsung Elecs. Co., 802 F.3d 1283, 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (citation omitted). “Vigorous cross-examination, presentation of contrary evidence, and careful instruction on the burden of proof are the traditional

and appropriate means of attacking shaky but admissible evidence.” Daubert, 509 U.S. at 596 (citation omitted). III. MITEL’S MOTION TO EXCLUDE DR. RAMAMIRTHAM SUKUMAR (DKT. NO. 387) A. Background Facts Estech hired Dr. Ramamirtham Sukumar as an expert witness to perform a conjoint analysis—a consumer research survey method—that is being used to “determine customers’ willingness to pay for features represented in this patent infringement lawsuit.” Sukumar Report, Dkt. No. 387-1 at ¶¶ 10, 12. Dr. Sukumar explains that conjoint analysis provides a way to determine how much consumers value a particular feature of a multi-feature product. Id. at ¶¶ 13– 15. In his report, Dr. Sukumar uses conjoint analysis in an effort to quantify a difference in market value for a voice over IP (VoIP) solution/service based on seven attributes: five attributes

corresponding to patented features, one distractor attribute, and one price attribute. Id. at ¶¶ 10, 12. Using information obtained from the survey, Dr. Sukumar calculates numerical values representing consumer willingness to pay for each of the five attributes corresponding to the patented features. Id. at ¶¶ 50–52. Defendants seek to exclude Dr. Sukumar’s entire expert report and opinions concerning the conjoint survey as allegedly failing to satisfy the reliability requirements of Rule 702 and Daubert. Motion, Dkt. No. 387 at 1. For the reasons below, the Court holds that Dr. Sukumar’s expert report is sufficiently reliable to satisfy Rule 702 and Daubert. B. Analysis Mitel argues that the conjoint survey is unreliable because (1) it uses responses from

customers rather than providers, such as Mitel, and therefore measures the incorrect universe of respondents, and (2) does not sufficiently relate to any fact issues the jury will be asked to resolve. Motion, Dkt. No. 387 at 5. As a legal basis for its first argument, Mitel relies on several cases. Motion, Dkt. No. 387 (citing Amstar Corp. v. Domino’s Pizza, Inc., 615 F.2d 252, 264 (5th Cir. 1980) (“the persons interviewed must adequately represent the opinions which are relevant to the litigation.”); Scott Fetzer Co. v. House of Vacuums Inc., 381 F.3d 477, 487–88 (5th Cir. 2004); TravelPass Grp., LLC v. Ceasers Ent. Corp., No. 5:18-cv-153-RWS-CMC, 2021 WL 6334670, at *8 (E.D. Tex. Sept.

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Estech Systems IP, LLC v. Mitel Networks, Inc., (E.D. Tex. 2023).

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