Eastern District of Texas judge “enhances” award in patent infringement suit to more than $53 million

In a Sept. 27 order, Chief U.S. District Judge David Folsom of the Eastern District of Texas, doubled the $26.6 million that a Marshall jury awarded in damages to Plano-based DataTreasury Corp. at the conclusion of a March trial in a patent infringement suit. That jury found that defendants U.S. Bank and Viewpointe Archive Services jointly infringed on DataTreasury’s two patents covering technology used to process checks and that the infringement was willful. But, as noted in Folsom’s order on DataTreasury’s request for enhanced damages, the judge limited the $53.2 million damages award to U.S. Bank. “Because the jury only found direction and control by U.S. Bank, only U.S. Bank is liable for this enhancement,” Folsom wrote in the order in DataTreasury Corp. v. Wells Fargo & Co., et al. Nix, Patterson & Roach partner Nelson Roach of Daingerfield, DataTreasury’s attorney, says he was not surprised by Folsom’s decision to double the award against U.S. Bank. “I thought we had real good evidence on enhanced damages,” Roach says. Haynes and Boone partner Phillip Philbin of Dallas, Viewpointe’s attorney, says his client is pleased with Folsom’s decisions on its liability, which the judge detailed in a separate order also issued Sept. 27. Philbin says Viewpointe archives images, including check images, for clients. “The judge found Viewpointe was the servant and therefore the activities of U.S. Bank could not be the basis of infringement by Viewpointe. Therefore Viewpointe did not infringe,“ Philbin says. “If Viewpointe is not an infringer, Viewpointe cannot be a willful infringer.” Philbin also says there is no legal basis for joint and several liability in this case. However, Folsom’s decisions were bad news for U.S. Bank. Teri Charest, spokeswoman for U.S. Bank, writes in an e-mail: “We are disappointed with the court’s recent rulings, but remain confident that U.S. Bank did not infringe the patents at issue and that the patents will ultimately be held invalid. U.S. Bank will pursue all avenues to protect its rights and will appeal.”
-- Mary Alice Robbins