U.S. Supreme Court grants cert in Texas legal-malpractice case that involves patent law

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a petition for writ of certiorari in a Texas case that could determine whether federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear legal-malpractice cases involving patent law.

On Oct. 5, the high court granted review of Vernon F. Minton v. Jerry W. Gunn, et al., a 2011 decision in which the Texas Supreme Court found by a 5-3 vote that a Texas legal-malpractice case, which involves the alleged mishandling of a patent matter, belongs in federal court.

Minton sued a number of attorneys and firms in state court, alleging legal malpractice, allegations the defendants denied. A state trial court judge dismissed Minton’s clams, granting the defendants’ no-evidence summary judgment motion and their motion to dismiss, and rendering judgment in their favor.

While Minton’s case was on appeal in the state court system, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision in 2007 in Air Measurement Technologies v. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a case of first impression. The Federal Circuit found that federal courts should handle patent legal-malpractice claims when: “establishing patent infringement is a necessary element of a [state] malpractice claim stemming from alleged mishandling of . . . earlier patent litigation, the issue is substantial and contested, and federal resolution of the issue was intended by Congress.”

Based on Air Measurement, the Texas Supreme Court found that federal courts should handle Minton and dismissed the state court case. The defendants in Minton appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Since the Federal Circuit issued Air Measurement, federal and state appellate courts have split over whether state or federal courts should hear legal-malpractice claims involving patent litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to grant cert to several cases that involved Air Measurement jurisdiction questions until now, says Jane Webre, a partner in Austin’s Scott, Douglass & McConnico who filed the defendants’ cert petition in Minton.

Webre says the case involves a “completely clean presentation” of the scope-of-jurisdiction question. “It’s a post-Air Measurement conundrum. The court has had this issue presented in half a dozen cases in cert applications previously. . . . We had a perfect storm, and we had this issue cleanly presented.”

Webre’s clients believe the high court should overturn Air Measurement because legal malpractice cases and the discipline and regulation of attorneys have long been the exclusive jurisdiction of state courts, she says.

Randy Johnston, a partner in Dallas’ Johnston Tobey who represents Minton, says Air Measurement makes clear that his client’s case belongs in federal court. Earlier this year, Minton filed a federal complaint in the Eastern District of Texas, which has been stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the jurisdictional question.

“It’s a complete redo at federal court for us. Obviously, the same issues will come up,” Johnston says.

--- John Council

Comments

[semi truck accident attorney]

There was a major change to US Patent law is the abolishing of the well established 12 month grace period to file following first disclosure in the form of printed publication, public use, sale or availability.

[Fender]

Hope this step proves to be a profitable one in the federal system.