Firestorm Labs, Inc. v. Rapidflight Holdings LLC

District Court, S.D. California·Decided July 28, 2025·No. 3:24-cv-02387·Unknown

Opinion

FIRESTORM LABS, INC., Case No.: 24-CV-2387 JLS (JLB)

Plaintiff,

v. ORDER:

(1) GRANTING PLAINTIFF AND

DEFENDANT’S RESPECTIVE Defendant. MOTIONS TO SEAL;

(2) GRANTING DEFENDANT’S REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE; AND (3) DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF’S FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT;

(ECF Nos. 9, 12, 15)

Presently before the Court is Defendant RapidFlight Holdings LLC’s (“Defendant” or “RapidFlight”) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint (“Mot.,” ECF No. 9), along with its Memorandum of Points and Authorities (“Mem.,” ECF No. 9-1). Also before the Court is Plaintiff Firestorm Labs, Inc.’s (“Plaintiff” or “Firestorm”) Motion to file a redacted version of its Opposition to RapidFlight’s Motion to Dismiss, and to file the supporting Exhibit A under seal in its entirety (“Firestorm Sealing Mot.,” ECF No. 12). Firestorm also lodged its proposed documents to be filed under seal, see ECF No. 13, and filed an Opposition to RapidFlight’s Motion to Dismiss (“Opp’n,” ECF No. 14). RapidFlight did not oppose Firestorm’s Motion to Seal, and instead filed its own Motion to Seal, seeking to redact portions of its Reply which recite from the Exhibit A document Firestorm moved to seal (“RapidFlight Sealing Mot.,” ECF No. 15). Thereafter, RapidFlight lodged the proposed documents to be filed under seal, see ECF No. 16, and filed a Reply in Support of its Motion to Dismiss (“Reply,” ECF No. 17). The Court then took the Motions under submission without oral argument pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1(d)(1). See ECF No. 18. Having carefully reviewed the Motions, the briefing, Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint (“FAC,” ECF No. 5), the Parties’ arguments, and the law, the Court GRANTS the Parties’ respective Motions to Seal and DENIES Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff Firestorm filed its initial Complaint in this Court on December 18, 2024. See ECF No. 1. Firestorm subsequently filed its First Amended Complaint on December 19, 2024. See FAC. The FAC alleges the following. Firestorm, a San Diego company, develops modular, 3D printed unmanned ariel systems (“UASs”). FAC ¶ 1. Defendant RapidFlight is Plaintiff’s competitor and also sells 3D printed UASs. Id. ¶¶ 4–5. RapidFlight holds patents covering various aspects of its technology, including U.S. Patent Nos. 11,597,490 (“the ’490 Patent”) and 11,840,323 (“the ’323 Patent”) (collectively, “Patents-in-Suit”). On June 28, 2023, RapidFlight’s attorney sent Firestorm a letter accusing Firestorm of infringing the ’490 Patent, and demanding Firestorm: (i) Immediately stop marketing, manufacturing, selling, offering for sale or importing products that infringe RapidFlight’s patent rights; (ii) disclose all information about its purchases and sales osef lltehres oinf)fr tihnegsien gp rpordoudcutsc;t s, including its source for (and other (iii) destroy any inventory of the infringing products (and provide documentation of such destruction by an independent and reliable entity); and (iv) pay RapidFlight a reasonable royalty rate for sales of infringing products and reimbursement of RapidFlight’s legal fees in connection with this matter.

Id. ¶¶ 12–15. RapidFlight’s letter imposed a two-week deadline to respond. Id. ¶ 16. On July 12, 2023, Firestorm’s counsel responded to RapidFlight’s letter, indicating that it would take time to investigate and analyze, and explained its hope that “Firestorm and RapidFlight can find an amicable resolution.” Id. ¶¶ 17–18. On August 11, 2023, Firestorm’s counsel sent RapidFlight’s counsel another letter, explaining that RapidFlight’s allegations were not correct, specifically, because RapidFlight’s infringement allegations misidentify a simple connector component on a Firestorm product as a “reinforcement element.” Id. ¶¶ 19–21. Firestorm’s counsel included three-dimensional models of the relevant portions of Firestorm’s products. Id. ¶ 23. On August 31, 2023, RapidFlight’s counsel responded by letter, telling Firestorm that it “appreciate[d] the rendering of the Firestorm product,” but claimed that there was “some ambiguity as to the nature of the coupling[.]” Id. ¶¶ 25–26. RapidFlight thus requested that Firestorm allow its attorneys to inspect Firestorm’s “technical manuals or other product design documents.” Id. ¶ 26. Firestorm’s counsel responded on October 3, 2023, and explained that “Firestorm provided RapidFlight with sufficient information for RapidFlight to see for itself” that Firestorm’s products do not infringe RapidFlight’s patent. Id. ¶¶ 27–28. However, Firestorm also told RapidFlight it remained willing to negotiate a business resolution. Id. ¶ 30. RapidFlight’s counsel responded to Firestorm’s letter on November 6, 2023, telling Firestorm that it had no present intention to file a lawsuit “based on an ‘advertisement,’” but would continue to “investigate Firestorm’s product line” and reserved the “right to enforce any and all patent rights as further developments warrant.” Id. ¶¶ 31–32. RapidFlight never sent Firestorm another letter. Id. ¶ 33. However, Firestorm was subsequently led to believe that RapidFlight approached decisionmakers for government contracts being pursued by both Firestorm and RapidFlight to accuse Firestorm of infringement and claim that a lawsuit was imminent. Id. ¶ 35. Firestorm asserts that RapidFlight’s allegations create a real and immediate controversy between the Parties regarding whether Firestorm’s products infringe any claim(s) of the Patents-in-Suit, and that RapidFlight’s statements and conduct “show it is likely that it will assert infringement of the Patents-in-Suit against Firestorm.” Id. ¶ 40. Firestorm thus seeks a judicial declaration that it does not infringe the Patents-in-Suit. Id. ¶ 41. On February 3, 2025, RapidFlight moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s FAC. See Mot. In its Motion, RapidFlight also requests the Court take judicial notice of attached Exhibits 1–6. Mem. at 6. On February 27, 2025, Firestorm filed its Opposition and Motion to Seal. See Firestorm Sealing Mot.; see also Opp’n. RapidFlight did not oppose Firestorm’s Motion to Seal, see generally Docket, and on March 6, 2025, RapidFlight filed its Reply and a Motion to Seal the portions of its Reply that referenced a document Firestorm moved to seal. See RapidFlight Sealing Mot; see also Reply. The Court finds it appropriate to first address the Parties’ respective Motions to Seal portions of their briefing. As noted above, Firestorm has filed a Motion to File Under Seal Firestorm Labs, Inc.’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, seeking leave to file a redacted version of its Opposition, and to file Exhibit A under seal in its entirety. See generally Firestorm Sealing Mot. In turn, RapidFlight requests permission to file a redacted copy of its Reply as such filing recites portions of Firestorm’s Exhibit A. See generally RapidFlight Sealing Mot. I. Legal Standard “[T]he courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978). “Unless a particular court record is one ‘traditionally kept secret,’ a ‘strong presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.” Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). “The presumption of access is ‘based on the need for federal courts, although independent—indeed, particularly because they are independent—to have a measure of accountability and for the public to have confidence in the administration of justice.’” Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Amodeo, 71 F.3d 1044, 1048 (2d Cir. 1995)). A party seeking to seal a judicial record bears the burden

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

Firestorm Labs, Inc. v. Rapidflight Holdings LLC, (S.D. Cal. 2025).

Firestorm Labs, Inc. v. Rapidflight Holdings LLC (Firestorm Labs, Inc. v. Rapidflight Holdings LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Aetna Life Insurance v. Haworth
300 U.S. 227 (Supreme Court, 1937)
Maryland Casualty Co. v. Pacific Coal & Oil Co.
312 U.S. 270 (Supreme Court, 1941)
Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc.
435 U.S. 589 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Papasan v. Allain
478 U.S. 265 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
511 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N. A.
550 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 2007)
MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc.
549 U.S. 118 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Auburn Police Union v. Carpenter
8 F.3d 886 (First Circuit, 1993)
Cabral v. United States Department of Justice
587 F.3d 13 (First Circuit, 2009)
Hewlett-Packard Co. v. ACCELERON LLC
587 F.3d 1358 (Federal Circuit, 2009)
Adenta GmbH v. OrthoArm, Inc.
501 F.3d 1364 (Federal Circuit, 2007)
SanDisk Corp. v. STMicroelectronics, Inc.
480 F.3d 1372 (Federal Circuit, 2007)
Schreiber Foods, Inc. v. Beatrice Cheese, Inc.
402 F.3d 1198 (Federal Circuit, 2005)
Stephen H. Demarest v. United States
718 F.2d 964 (Ninth Circuit, 1983)
Arrowhead Industrial Water, Inc. v. Ecolochem, Inc.
846 F.2d 731 (Federal Circuit, 1988)