Caron et al v. Lifestyle Crafts LLC

Filing 59

ORDER that judgment is entered in the form of the separate judgment filed herewith. The Clerk shall terminate this case. Signed by Judge Neil V Wake on 12/3/12. (TLJ)

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WO

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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James Jeffrey Caron; Spellbinders Paper
Arts Company, LLC,
Plaintiffs,

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No. CV-12-00124-PHX-NVW
ORDER

vs.
Lifestyle Crafts, LLC,
Defendant.

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On November 13, 2012, the Court entered judgment in Caron, et al. v. QuicKutz

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Inc., No. CV09-2600-PHX-NVW (Doc. 211), adjudicating that U.S. Patent No.

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7,469,634 is unenforceable due to the inequitable conduct of Plaintiffs James Jeffrey

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Caron and Spellbinders Paper Arts Company, LLC. Plaintiffs were ordered to show

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cause why judgment should not be entered in favor of Defendant and against Plaintiffs in

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this action.

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unenforceability in this action is appropriate under the doctrine of collateral estoppel.

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(Doc. 57.)

In their response, Plaintiffs acknowledged that entering judgment of

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In patent actions, collateral estoppel bars a patentee from asserting patent claims

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against a defendant if those claims have been held invalid in a previous infringement

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action against a different defendant and the patentee had a fair opportunity to pursue its

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claim the first time. Blonder-Tongue Labs., Inc. v. Univ. of Ill. Found., 402 U.S. 313,

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332-33 (1971). This rule applies to prior determinations of unenforceability as well.

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General Electro Music Corp. v. Samick Music Corp., 19 F.3d 1405, 1413 (Fed. Cir.

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1994). Therefore, this action will be dismissed because U.S. Patent No. 7,469,634 was
previously determined to be unenforceable due to the inequitable conduct of Plaintiffs
James Jeffrey Caron and Spellbinders Paper Arts Company, LLC, and Plaintiffs had fair
opportunity to pursue its claim in Caron, et al. v. QuicKutz Inc., No. CV09-2600-PHXNVW.
In addition, Defendant urges the Court to dismiss this action as a sanction for
discovery misconduct by Plaintiffs based on findings made in Caron et al. v. QuicKutz
Inc., No. CV09-2600-PHX-NVW (Doc. 210). The Court declines to do so.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that judgment is entered in the form of the
separate judgment filed herewith. The Clerk shall terminate this case.
Dated this 3rd day of December, 2012.

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