Great Plains Chemical Co v. Micro Chemical, Inc.

549 F. Supp. 1348, 217 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 1101, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15544
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedNovember 3, 1982
DocketCiv. A. No. 80-W-63
StatusPublished

This text of 549 F. Supp. 1348 (Great Plains Chemical Co v. Micro Chemical, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Great Plains Chemical Co v. Micro Chemical, Inc., 549 F. Supp. 1348, 217 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 1101, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15544 (D. Colo. 1982).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WINNER, Judge.

This case is a monument to the risk of futility in asking a jury to decide a complex patent case. Undeniably, the right to jury trial exists in patent cases, but that right carries with it hazards which here occurred. There is widespread public outcry for the creation of a special court to hear all patent cases because, say the proponents of various plans, district judges don’t understand them. Convincing arguments can be made in support of these charges, but at least district judges can’t cause the confusion which here occurred. In cases tried to the court, the judge must decide one way or the other on all questions, but a jury can escape decision by failing to agree, and that’s what happened here. However, let me hasten to add that never was there a more conscientious jury than this one which deliberated eight long days trying to resolve the case, and one juror, the mother of a year old baby, was driving daily 100 miles each way [1349]*1349on snow packed mountain roads. The jury’s task can be best illustrated by the verdict form which was agreed to by the parties and which is appended. In defense of counsel submitting the verdict form, they and the court, were trying to do what is commanded by Graham v. John Deere Co. (1966) 383 U.S. 1, 86 S.Ct. 684, 15 L.Ed.2d 545, and, with that decision in mind, a jury trial of a patent case is even more of a challenge all too often destined for disaster. It must be recalled that John Deere says:

“While the ultimate question of patent validity is one of law (cit. om.) the § 103 condition, which is but one of three conditions, each of which must be satisfied, lends itself to several basic factual inquiries. Under § 103 the scope and content of the prior art are to be determined; differences between the prior art and the claims at issue are to be ascertained; and . the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art resolved. Against this background, the obviousness or nonobviousness of the subject matter is determined.”

The verdict form which is attached is a copy of the actual verdict which was returned by the jury after its 8-day deliberation, and from an examination of the verdict, it will be seen that the jury made the fact findings necessary to a determination of validity, ultimately a matter for the judge rather than the jury. See, Graham v. John Deere, supra, Baustimler v. Rankin, (1982) 5 Cir., 677 F.2d 1061. Baustimler was tried to a jury and it was reversed because:

“In the instant case, the jury made no findings of fact on prior art and factual aspects of obviousness, nor did they make a finding on the issue of obviousness and validity, two issues which are clearly legal, not factual. There simply is no factual or legal determination that the patents are valid, given the general verdict form which deliberately left open the question of validity, using the phrase, ‘valid patent, if any.’ ”

The discussion in Baustimler of the evils of a general verdict in a patent case emphasizes the reasons counsel here submitted the special verdict form, and I assume without deciding that the factual determinations required by Baustimler and John Deere were incorporated in the verdict form used. Undeniably, the verdict itself does not determine patent validity, and I have made no determination that any patent in suit is or is not valid. Moreover, for reasons which I shall explain presently, I shall make no such determination in this case, and, since the “ultimate question of patent validity is one of law,” there is in fact no real determination of validity in this case.

Bearing in mind the form of verdict which was given to the jury, it is little wonder that after deliberation for a while, the jury sent out the following note:

“We the jury would like clarification on questions 2(b) and 2(c)
“(1) Is an affirmative answer on 2(b) in favor of the plaintiff or defendant?
“(2) Is an affirmative answer to 2(c) in favor of the plaintiff or defendant?”

The questions were answered in open court and the answer was approved by both counsel. However, when a jury doesn’t understand a verdict form well enough to know which side wins if a “yes” answer is given, it gives one cause for pause before joining in song with Baustimler where it is said that “Special interrogatories under Rule 49(a) whose songs of praise we have repeatedly sounded, have especial value in a patent case tried to a jury. Their use is not only practical, facilitating appellate review and avoiding lengthy (as patent cases invariably are) retrial for even relatively minor errors in jury instructions, but accords with the inherent divisional lines between the roles of judge and jury, the boundaries of which are so easily transgressed in patent cases tried to juries.” However, Baustimler makes crystal clear that if a jury is to be used, special interrogatories must be used, and those interrogatories must result in jury made “specific factual findings to the three John Deere questions on obviousness to support a finding by the judge of validity.”

[1350]*1350Assuming without deciding that the interrogatories the jury was asked to respond to meet the requirements of John Deere, I must now rule on the requests of Micro Chemical to (a) file amended counterclaims, (b) enter judgment on the amended counterclaims, and (c) make a Rule 54(b) determination on those judgments.

Great Plains brought this declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration of invalidity of the enumerated claims of the three patents attacked in the suit. Micro Chemical counterclaimed saying as to each of the patents and each claim thereof under attack that the patents were valid and infringed. This, of course, is the way these declaratory judgment actions usually wind up in a pleading sense. Now, with the inconclusive jury verdict, Micro Chemical wants to amend its sundry counterclaims to obtain as to each claim of each patent in suit a declaratory judgment that the patent is valid and to leave for later jury determination a newly pleaded companion counterclaim as to every challenged claim of each patent in suit the question of infringement. Next, following this new set of pleadings filed after the jury was unable to agree on any question of infringement, Micro Chemical wants me to enter judgment on each of the new split claims asserting patent validity, and, finally, Micro Chemical wants me to make a Rule 54(b) determination as to the newly pleaded validity claims. Great Plains, on the other hand, says that a new trial on all issues is the only answer to the mess.

Surprisingly, neither counsel nor the court have found a case in point dealing with a partial jury verdict in a patent case, and seemingly we are ploughing virgin ground. However, Micro Chemical’s requests give me many problems in addition to those inherent in apparent jury confusion over obviousness. Initially, there is the pleading problem of permitting a repleading splitting several claims which were originally pleaded singly. I don’t think that can be done, but, if it can be, I don’t think that the interests of justice permit any such amendment.

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Related

Electrical Fittings Corp. v. Thomas
307 U.S. 241 (Supreme Court, 1939)
Altvater v. Freeman
319 U.S. 359 (Supreme Court, 1943)
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. MacKey
351 U.S. 427 (Supreme Court, 1956)
Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City
383 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Curtiss-Wright Corp. v. General Electric Co.
446 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1980)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
549 F. Supp. 1348, 217 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 1101, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/great-plains-chemical-co-v-micro-chemical-inc-cod-1982.