Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc.

29 Citing cases

  1. R.W. Intern. Corp. v. Welch Foods, Inc.

    937 F.2d 11 (1st Cir. 1991)   Cited 94 times
    Finding that general scheduling orders are not sufficient to trigger the application of Rule 37(b)

    The decided cases, and the commentators, are consentient in the view that Rule 37(b)(2)'s plain language means exactly what it says. See, e.g., Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc. 896 F.2d 1359, 1362 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 111 S.Ct. 142, 112 L.Ed.2d 109 (1990); Salahuddin v. Harris, 782 F.2d 1127, 1131 (2d Cir. 1986); Laclede Gas Co. v. G. W. Warnecke Corp., 604 F.2d 561, 565 (8th Cir. 1979); 4A J. Moore J. Lucas, Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 37.03[2], at 37-62 to 37-64 (2d ed. 1991); 8 C. Wright A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2289, at 790 (1970). In this case, therefore, the propriety of dismissing plaintiffs' complaint under Rule 37(b)(2) hinges on the answer to the following question: Did either Ward's refusal to answer the tax exemption questions during his deposition or the plaintiffs' failure to produce the Impex documents transgress "an order to provide or permit discovery," Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(b)(2), then in effect?

  2. Gilead Scis., Inc. v. Sigmapharm Labs., LLC

    Civil Action No. 10-4931 (SDW) (MCA) (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2014)

    Gilead contends that there were better and more efficacious alternatives such as Viread® and another generic product that were on the doorstep of entering the market. As previously discussed, it is within the court's discretion whether or not to award attorney's fees. Machinery Corp. of Am., 774 F.2d at 471; Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 1990). It is equally clear that the defendant bears the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that this case is exceptional.

  3. Catalina Marketing International v. Coolsavings.com

    No. 00 C 2447 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 4, 2004)   Cited 2 times
    Holding defendant dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction was not a prevailing party because "[n]o decision of the merits of the case was determined by this Court;" accordingly, the legal relationship between the parties was not altered because "Catalina is free to file suit, making identical allegations, in another court"

    An award of fees is a two-step process. First, the court must find that the case is an "exceptional case". If the court determines an exceptional case exists, it then, in its discretion, must decide whether to award attorney's fees. Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 1990) ( Badalamenti). The party seeking an exceptional case status has the burden of proving that its case is exceptional by clear and convincing evidence.

  4. Victus, Ltd. v. Collezione Europa U.S.A., Inc.

    26 F. Supp. 2d 772 (M.D.N.C. 1998)   Cited 15 times
    Holding that fees can be awarded under section 285 for either objective or subjective bad faith whereas sham litigation requires a showing of both objective and subjective bad faith

    " The purpose of the statute is to allow the district court discretion to award fees "where it would be grossly unjust that the winner be left to bear the burden of his own counsel which prevailing litigants normally bear." Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (quoting J.P. Stevens Co., Inc. v. Lex Tex Ltd., 822 F.2d 1047, 1052 (Fed. Cir. 1987)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Congress intended that district courts use this discretion sparingly, as the statute is a departure from the usual "American" rule that counsel fees are not awarded to the prevailing party in an action at law.

  5. Alexander Manufacturing Co. v. HM Electronics, Inc.

    857 F. Supp. 648 (N.D. Iowa 1994)

    Plaintiff asserts these discrepancies are attributable to the lapse of time between the sale of the prototypes in 1981 and 82 and the preparation of the declaration in October 1984. Plaintiff states they may have been careless, negligent, or inattentive in attempting to review 2-3 year old sales records but that doesn't amount to intent to deceive. Plaintiff asserts that this is not an "exceptional case" warranting attorney's fees. Plaintiff asserts that the purpose of 35 U.S.C. § 285 is to provide the district court with the discretion to award attorneys fees where it would be grossly unjust for the winner be left to bear the burden of his counsel fees. Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 1989). Plaintiff contends that the cases cited by the defendant are distinguishable and this court should follow Western Marine Electronics v.Furuno Electric Co., Ltd., 764 F.2d 840, 842 (Fed. Cir. 1985) where the court affirmed the district court's denial of attorney's fees in an action involving the on-sale bar issue even though the district court had determined that the patentee had not been forthright in producing certain documents and that some of its interrogatory answers may have been deliberately misleading.

  6. Freeman v. San Diego Ass'n of Realtors

    322 F.3d 1133 (9th Cir. 2003)   Cited 96 times   4 Legal Analyses
    Holding that plainly anticompetitive conduct by otherwise valid joint ventures must be "reasonably ancillary to the legitimate cooperative aspects of the venture"

    That sanction hasn't yet been approved by the district court and isn't before us. Relying on Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359 (Fed. Cir. 1990), defendants contend that the court abused its discretion because they had objected to the discovery requests as ambiguous, and plaintiffs never "tested" those objections. But plaintiffs' motion to compel discovery is the only testing that Rule 37(a)(4) requires.

  7. Freeman v. San Diego Assn. of Realtors

    01-56199oa (9th Cir. Mar. 10, 2003)   Cited 1 times

    [ 32] Relying on Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359 (Fed. Cir. 1990), defendants contend that the court abused its discretion because they had objected to the discovery requests as ambiguous, and plaintiffs never "tested" those objections. But plaintiffs' motion to compel discovery is the only testing that Rule 37(a)(4) requires.

  8. Seal-Flex v. Athletic Track Court Const

    172 F.3d 836 (Fed. Cir. 1999)   Cited 99 times
    Holding that proving infringement requires the patentee to demonstrate that the accused product meets each claim limitation of the subject patent

    The imposition of sanctions for misconduct during discovery is not unique to this court's jurisdiction. See, e.g., Wexell v. Komar Indus., Inc., 18 F.3d 916, 919, 29 USPQ2d 2017, 2020 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (reviewing discovery sanctions under Sixth Circuit standards); Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1362, 13 USPQ2d 1967, 1970 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (same). Accordingly, this court applies the law of the pertinent regional circuit, in this case the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. See Pro-Mold Tool Co. v. Great Lakes Plastics, Inc., 75 F.3d 1568, 1574, 37 USPQ2d 1626, 1631 (Fed. Cir. 1996).

  9. Interspiro USA, Inc. v. Figgie International Inc.

    18 F.3d 927 (Fed. Cir. 1994)   Cited 105 times
    Holding that "[i]nterpretation of an agreement presents a question of law, governed by state contract law" and that New York law accordingly governed interpretation of the contractual provisions controlling royalty calculation in an appeal from the district court's grant of a motion to enforce a settlement agreement that had resolved a patent infringement case

    See J.P. Stevens Co. v. Lex Tex Ltd., 822 F.2d 1047, 1050, 3 USPQ2d 1235, 1237 (Fed. Cir. 1987). The first step concerns a question of fact which we review for clear error, see Badalamenti v. Dunham's Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1364, 13 USPQ2d 1967, 1972 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 851, 111 S.Ct. 142, 112 L.Ed.2d 109 (1990), and the second lies within the discretion of the trial judge, which we review for abuse, see Mathis v. Spears, 857 F.2d 749, 754, 8 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1988).

  10. Wexell v. Komar Industries, Inc.

    18 F.3d 916 (Fed. Cir. 1994)   Cited 10 times
    Reviewing discovery sanctions under Sixth Circuit standards

    This court applies the law of the pertinent regional circuit when the precise issue to be addressed involves an interpretation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Biodex Corp. v. Loredan Biomedical, Inc., 946 F.2d 850, 857 n. 10, 20 USPQ2d 1252, 1258 n. 10 (Fed. Cir. 1991), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 2957, 119 L.Ed.2d 579 (1992); Badalamenti v. Dunham's, Inc., 896 F.2d 1359, 1362, 13 USPQ2d 1967, 1970 (Fed. Cir.) (reviewing Rule 37(b) discovery sanctions under Sixth Circuit standard), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 851, 111 S.Ct. 142, 112 L.Ed.2d 109 (1990). In the Sixth Circuit, review of the district court's dismissal of a complaint pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(C) is for an abuse of discretion. Bank One of Cleveland, N.A. v. Abbe, 916 F.2d 1067, 1073 (6th Cir. 1990).