Railex Corp. v. Joseph Guss & Sons, Inc.

40 F.R.D. 119, 10 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1044, 148 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 640, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7194
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 10, 1966
DocketCiv. A. No. 2062-64
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 40 F.R.D. 119 (Railex Corp. v. Joseph Guss & Sons, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Railex Corp. v. Joseph Guss & Sons, Inc., 40 F.R.D. 119, 10 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1044, 148 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 640, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7194 (D.D.C. 1966).

Opinion

JACKSON, District Judge.

This cause came on for determination ■of defendants’ motion for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Title 28 U.S.C.A., on the ground of alleged failure of plaintiff to join an indispensable party in this civil action for patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 281.

The essential question raised by this motion is whether plaintiff had the requisite title to the patents in suit at the time of filing the Complaint on August 21, 1964.

On November 21,' 1961 plaintiff had transferred title to the applications which later matured into the patents in suit to the Small Business Administration (hereinafter designated as SBA) as security for a loan obtained by plaintiff from SBA. The most pertinent provisions of this original deed of assignment of November 21, 1961 are as follows:

“This assignment is made upon the understanding that the Assignor reserves. * * *
(b) The right at the sole charge and expense of the Assignor to bring suit for infringement against infringers of said Letters Patent or any of them in the name of Assignor and SBA as complainants. * * * ”
Provided always, and this assignment is made upon the express condition that if the Assignor shall punctually and fully pay or cause to be paid unto SBA the full amount payable upon or with respect to said note, according to its terms, together with interest thereon * * * this assignment shall be null and void, and said Letters Patent and applications for Letters Patent shall be reassigned to the Assignor but shall otherwise remain in full force and effect.”

In Waterman v. Mackenzie, 138 U.S. 252, 11 S.Ct. 334, 34 L.Ed. 923 (1890), the Supreme Court held that the nature of a document transferring a particular right or interest under a patent “does not depend upon the name by which it calls itself, but upon the legal effect of its provisions.” 138 U.S. at 256, 11 S.Ct. at 335.

In the Waterman case the Supreme Court held that a deed of “assignment” of November 25, 1884 was actually a mortgage of the patent in suit, intended as security for a promissory note of the same date evidencing a debt of $6500. The maturity date of the note was November 25, 1887, i. e., three years after the November 25, 1884 date of the note and security mortgage. On April 24, 1886, prior to the maturity date of the [122]*122note, and prior to full payment of the debt evidenced by the note, the mortgagor’s exclusive licensee had filed a /bill in equity for patent infringement. The Supreme Court held that the suit in equity was properly dismissed, since at the time the action was brought the whole title, both legal and equitable, was held by the mortgagee’s assignee, who was not a party to the suit brought by the mortgagor’s exclusive licensee. The Opinion of Mr. Justice Gray stressed the security aspect of the mortgage, which was intended as security for the $6500 note, and also distinguished mortgages of personal property from those of real estate. In a realty mortgage the mortgagor normally remains the equitable owner of the property, and the mortgagee takes either bare legal title or a mere lien on the property, depending upon whether the particular state involved applies the title theory or lien theory of real estate mortgages.

Mr. Justice Gray distinguished that situation from the personalty mortgage, wherein the mortgagee acquires the whole (equitable and legal) title in the following words:

“By a mortgage of personal property * * * both at law and in equity, the whole title is transferred to the mortgagee, as security for the debt, subject only to be defeated by performance of the condition, or by redemption on bill in equity within a reasonable time * * 138 U.S. at 258, 11 S.Ct. at 336.

Then the Supreme Court held that, at least prior to repayment of the debt secured by the mortgage, the patent mortgagee (or his assignee), as the owner of the whole title to the patent, was therefore the only person entitled to maintain either an action at law or a suit in equity for infringement of the patent.

In the present case all parties to the action and the Court agree that the original November 21, 1961 “assignment” was really a mortgage transaction, like the November 25,1884 “assignment” in the Waterman case. Likewise, this civil action, in which the complaint was filed August 21, 1964, was brought prior to the November 21, 1971 maturity date of the note secured by the mortgage to SBA of the patents in suit. However, the Court is of the opinion that there is a critical distinction between the facts of the present case and those of Waterman. In the Waterman case, the facts indicate that the bill in equity was filed prior to repayment in full of the $6500 debt evidenced by the promissory note and secured by the mortgage; and the Supreme Court placed great stress on the security value of the mortgage. In the present case, however, the complaint was filed August 21, 1964, a date which was subsequent to repayment in full by the plaintiff-mortgagor of the SBA loan which was secured by mortgage of the patents in suit to SBA. The loan was repaid in full on July 31, 1964, as evidenced by the fact that the note was stamped “PAID”, signed, and dated by the authorized SBA certifying officer on that date. Since the “assignment” or mortgage of the patents in suit was intended only as security for the SBA loan, the Court holds that plaintiff immediately reacquired equitable title to the mortgaged patents on July 31, 1964, when the SBA loan was repaid in full. Legal title, however, continued to be held by mortgagee SBA until April 26, 1965, at which time legal title was reassigned to the plaintiff-mortgagor by SBA with a provision in this second assignment that “this assignment includes the right to sue and recover for past infringements, against all persons or parties except the United States Government and its Agencies.”

Although the SBA no longer held equitable title to the patents during the interval between July 31, 1964, and April 26, 1965, the agency continued to hold the bare legal title as constructive trustee for the benefit of plaintiff-mortgagor, but no longer as security for the SBA loan, which had been repaid in full [123]*123on July 31, 1964. Thus the further issue arises as to whether plaintiff, as equitable owner of the patents in suit on August 21, 1964, was entitled under 35 U.S.C. § 281 to bring this civil action for patent infringement at that time without joining SB A, the holder of legal title, as a party to the action.

Initially, it should be mentioned that F.R.C.P. Rule 2 abolishes only the procedural distinctions but not the substantive distinctions between law and equity. Stainback v. Mo Hock Ke Lok Po, 336 U.S. 368, 382, 69 S.Ct. 606, 93 L.Ed. 741 (1949).

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40 F.R.D. 119, 10 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1044, 148 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 640, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/railex-corp-v-joseph-guss-sons-inc-dcd-1966.