Otter Products, LLC v. Fellowes, Inc.

• Court: District Court, N.D. Illinois
• Decided: February 21, 2020
• Docket: 1:19-cv-06195
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

OTTER PRODUCTS, LLC, and ) TREEFROG DEVELOPMENTS, INC., ) ) Case No. 1:19-cv-06195 Plaintiffs, ) ) JUDGE ROWLAND v. ) ) MAGISTRATE JUDGE HARJANI FELLOWES, INC. ) ) JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Defendant ) )

MOTION FOR ENTRY OF PARTIAL JUDGMENT

1. Plaintiffs Otter Products LLC and TreeFrog Developments, Inc. (“Plaintiffs”) respectfully request that the Court enter partial judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), based on the dismissal with prejudice of the causes of action pled in Fellowes’ Countercomplaint (Dkt. 30). 2. On February 16, 2020, Defendant Fellowes, Inc. (“Defendant”) stipulated to dismissal with prejudice of “the causes of action pled in the counterclaim of Docket Entry 30.” (Dkt. 48). On February 20, 2020, the Court dismissed with prejudice “the causes of action pled in the counterclaim of Docket Entry 30.” (Dkt 50). 3. Fellowes’ Countercomplaint (Dkt. 30) pled three causes of action: (1) infringement of U.S. Patent No. 10,084,502; (2) infringement of U.S. Patent No. 9,853,674; and (3) the non- infringement and invalidity of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,342,325; 8,393,466; 8,526,180; 8,531,834; 8,564,950; 9,549,598; 9,660,684; and 9,498,033 (“Plaintiffs’ Asserted Patents”). (Dkt. 30, at Countercomplaint). 4. Rule 54(b) authorizes the Court to “direct entry of a final judgment as to one or more, but fewer than all, claims . . . if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). Furthermore, dismissal of a claim with prejudice “is a judgment on the merits.” E.g., Power Mosfet Techs., L.L.C. v. Siemens AG, 378 F.3d 1396, 1416 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

5. Fellowes’ dismissal of its claims with prejudice operates as an adjudication on the underlying merits of those dismissed claims. As such, judgment should now be entered in favor of Plaintiffs and against Defendant with regards to three sets of claims: a. Defendant’s claim of infringement of the ’502 and ’674 Patents (Dkt. 30, Counts I and II, respectively); b. Defendant’s declaratory judgment claim of non-infringement and invalidity of Plaintiffs’ Asserted Patents (Dkt. 30, Count III); c. Plaintiffs’ claim of infringement of Plaintiffs’ Asserted Patents (Dkt. 22, Counts IV to XI).

6. In light of the above facts and law, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court enter judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor and against Defendant on Fellowes’ prejudicially dismissed Counterclaim Counts I through III as well as on Plaintiffs’ corresponding claims of the Amended Complaint (Dkt. 22), Counts IV-XI.

Dated: February 21, 2020 Respectfully submitted,

By: /s/ James Beard

James W. Beard (pro hac vice) Merchant & Gould P.C. 1801 California Street, Suite 3300 Denver, Colorado 80202 303. 357.1670 (Telephone) 612.332.9081 (Facsimile) jbeard@merchantgould.com

Reid P. Huefner Margaret A. Herrmann Irwin IP LLC 222 South Riverside Plaza Suite 2350 Chicago, IL 60606 312.667.6080 (Telephone) rhuefner@irwinip.com mherrmann@irwinip.com

Attorneys for Plaintiffs CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing Motion for Entry of Partial Judgment has, on February 21, 2020, been filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF System, which will send electronic notification of such filing to all counsel on record, namely:

Peter J. Shakula (#6204370) pjshakula@woodphillips.com WOOD PHILLIPS 500 West Madison Street, Suite 3800 Chicago, IL 60661-2562 Tel: 312.876.1800 Fax: 312.876.2020

William P. Atkins william.atkins@pillsburylaw.com Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 1650 Tysons Blvd. McLean, VA 22102 Tel: 703.770.7900

Attorneys for Defendant Fellowes, Inc.

James W. Beard (pro hac vice) Merchant & Gould P.C. 1801 California Street, Suite 3300 Denver, Colorado 80202 303. 357.1670 (Telephone) 612.332.9081 (Facsimile) jbeard@merchantgould.com

Dated: February 21, 2020