Honeywell International Inc. v. United States

65 Fed. Cl. 809, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 161, 2005 WL 1415441
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJanuary 26, 2005
DocketNo. 02-1909C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 65 Fed. Cl. 809 (Honeywell International Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Honeywell International Inc. v. United States, 65 Fed. Cl. 809, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 161, 2005 WL 1415441 (uscfc 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER CONCERNING THE STATUS OF DEFENDANT AND THE DEFENDANT-INTERVENOR, THE COURT’S JURISDICTION, AND RELATED MATTERS IN LIGHT OF DEFENDANTS’ JANUARY 14, 2005 CLAIM CONSTRUCTION BRIEF

BRADEN, Judge.

On May 23, 2003, the Government requested that Lockheed Martin Corporation (“Lockheed Martin”) be notified of this action, pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 114(b) and RCFC 14(b), because:

Lockheed Martin may have an interest in the outcome of this lawsuit for two reasons. First, it appears to have an obligation to reimburse or indemnify the Government for patent infringement based [808]*808upon either an express indemnity agreement or a warranty of noninfringement as provided in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In particular, all three contracts for the purchase of the C-13ÓJ aircraft appear to include an express warranty of noninfringement whereby a supplier, such as Lockheed Martin, agrees to indemnify the Government against claims of patent infringement resulting from its use of the purchased aircraft. In addition, a purchaser of goods, such as the Government, is accorded commercial warranties provided in the UCC and, in particular, the warranty against infringement as set forth in UCC § 2-312(3).
Second, apart from the question of whether Lockheed Martin is a potential indemnitor or warrantor to the Government, it may have sold or plan to sell the C-130J aircraft to other customers which are similar or identical to those supplied to the Government. In the latter instance, Lockheed Martin may have an interest in appearing as a third party in this lawsuit to establish rights to make and sell such machines free from claims of infringement. Thus, Lockheed Martin should be afforded an opportunity to enter this lawsuit as a third-party defendant through the issuance of the requested RCFC 14(b) notice.

May 23, 2003 Mot. for Notice to Third-Party Pursuant to RCFC 14(b) at 2-3. Attached to the Government’s Motion were three Exhibits, one of which reflects that the Government and Lockheed Martin entered into a contract on December 22, 2000, wherein it appears that the Government authorized Lockheed Martin “to intervene in the defense of any related suit; provided that at the request of the Government, [Lockheed Martin] will assume and undertake the conduct and control of any suit when it is legally practicable to do so.” May 23, 2003 Mot. for Notice to Third-Party Pursuant to RCFC 14(b), Exhibit 2 at 2((i)(3)) (Contract No. F33657-00-C-0018 page one and an unidentified one page attachment).

On September 3, 2003, Lockheed Martin filed an Unopposed Motion to Intervene in this case pursuant to RCFC 24(a)(2) or “[i]n the alternative” under RCFC 24(b)(2). See Lockheed Martin Mot. to Intervene at 8. On September 17, 2003, the court entered an order granting that motion, but only with respect to Counts III (’637 patent) and VII (’914 patent) and without specifying whether intervention was granted as a matter of right or by permission. Although the aforementioned exhibits indicate a sufficient interest in this case to support permissive intervention under RCFC 24(b), the exhibits were not complete, never authenticated, nor properly proffered to meet the evidentiary requirements for intervention as a matter of right. See, e.g., American Maritime Transp. Inc. v. United States, 870 F.2d 1559, 1561 (Fed.Cir. 1989) (Evidence supporting intervention as a matter of right must demonstrate “a direct and immediate character that the intervenor will either gain or lose by the direct legal operation and effect of the judgment.”)

The status of Lockheed Martin as a permissive intervenor, however, has been placed at issue as a result of the circumstances surrounding the filing of “Defendants’ January 14, 2005 Claim Construction Brief’ (“Defendants’ Brief’). On October 6, 2004, with the concurrence of all parties, an Amended Claim Construction Procedures Order was entered providing the dates on which “each party ” or “each opposing party ” would have to file a response chart, claim construction statement, and brief. See October 6, 2004 Order at IN 1(b), 2(b), 3(b)-(c) (emphasis added). Without requesting to amend the October 6, 2004 Order or otherwise requesting leave, the Government and Lockheed Martin proceeded to file a joint brief that clearly had been authored by Lockheed Martin’s counsel, albeit with the consent and concurrence of the Government. The court’s issue with Defendants’ Brief is not merely a quibble about form over substance, but about its impact on the current status of the Government, Lockheed Martin, the court’s jurisdiction, and issues central to the claim construction hearing scheduled to commence on January 31, 2005.

The public interest in having transparent judicial proceedings is particularly ill-served where a private party is in fact conducting and funding the Government’s defense of a patent infringement case without the Government’s public recognition and specific author[809]*809ization of such. Therefore, if the Government, in fact, has decided to allow Lockheed Martin to “assume and undertake the conduct and control” of this case, then the Government should advise the court and parties in writing on or before January 31, 2005 and provide the court and other parties with a brief explaining whether the court continues to have jurisdiction over this patent infringement suit. On the other hand, if the Government, in fact, intends to continue to defend this case, the court expects each party to proceed independently, representing the best interests of each party’s respective clients.

In addition, the Government should be aware that its decision to authorize the filing of Defendants’ Brief seriously has undermined the credibility of its claim construction argument. First, Defendants’ Brief did not bother to inform the court, much less acknowledge the import of the pending en banc proceedings in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Edward H. Phillips v. AWH Corp., 376 F.3d 1382 (Fed.Cir.2004), wherein the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently requested briefing and argument regarding the following core claim construction issues:

1. Is the public notice function of patent claims better served by referencing primarily to technical and general purpose dictionaries and similar sources to interpret a claim term or by looking primarily to the patentee’s use of the term in the specification? If both sources are to be consulted, in what order?

2. If dictionaries should serve as the primary source for claim interpretation, should the specification limit the full scope of claim language (as defined by the dictionaries) only when the patentee has acted as his own lexicographer or when the specification reflects a clear disclaimer of claim scope? If so, what language in the specification will satisfy those conditions? What use should be made of general as opposed to technical dictionaries? How does the concept of ordinary meaning apply if there are multiple dictionary definitions of the same term? If the dictionary provides multiple potentially applicable definitions for a term, is it appropriate to look to the specification to determine what definition or definitions should apply?

3.

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Related

Honeywell International Inc. v. United States
107 Fed. Cl. 659 (Federal Claims, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
65 Fed. Cl. 809, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 161, 2005 WL 1415441, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/honeywell-international-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-2005.