Justia U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

In 1997 Seagate recruited Dr. Shukh, a native of Belarus, to move to the U.S. Shukh executed Seagate’s standard Employment Agreement, assigning to Seagate all “right, title, and interest in and to any inventions” made while at Seagate. Seagate prohibited employees from filing patent applications for their inventions. During his employment, Shukh was named as an inventor on 17 patents. Shukh’s time at Seagate was tumultuous. His performance evaluations indicated that he did not work well with others due to his confrontational style. In 2009, Seagate terminated Shukh and 178 others. Shukh has not yet secured employment and claims that he was told that he would never find employment at certain companies with his reputation. Shukh alleges that Seagate wrongfully omitted him as an inventor from several patents relating to semiconductor technologies; that Seagate discriminated against and terminated him based national origin and in retaliation for complaining about discrimination. He sought correction of inventorship of the disputed patents under 35 U.S.C. 256. The district court held that Shukh had no interest in the patents based on the assignment; dismissed claims for rescission of his Employment Agreement, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment; and rejected claims of reputational harm, retaliation, fraud, and discrimination on summary judgment. The Federal Circuit vacated with respect to correction of inventorship, but otherwise affirmed. There is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Shukh’s negative reputation is traceable to Seagate’s omission of Shukh as an inventor from disputed patents. View "Shukh v. Seagate Tech., LLC" on Justia Law

The Navy, Military Sealift Command (MSC), issued a contract solicitation, involving management and coordination of lodging and transportation for federal civil service mariners who were completing required training at the New Jersey MSC Center. MSC issued the solicitation as a total small business set-aside under North American Industrial Classification System code: “Hotels (except Casino Hotels)”. After bidders revised and resubmitted their initial proposals, MSC accepted the proposal of Mali. Losing bidder DMC filed a size protest with the Small Business Administration (SBA), which found that Mali was not a small business.. Because DMC had submitted the next lowest-priced, technically acceptable bid, it was then declared the successful bidder. Tinton Falls then filed a size protest, alleging that DMC intended to subcontract the lodging services portion of the contract to hotels that did not qualify as small businesses. The SBA concluded that the primary and vital requirements of the solicitation were a coordinated package of rooms, transportation, and other services; that DMC would be performing a significant portion of the contract’s primary and vital requirements; that DMC’s relationship with its subcontracted hotels did not violate the ostensible contractor rule; and that DMC could be considered a small business concern. The Federal Circuit affirmed final judgment for the government and DMC. View "Tinton Falls Lodging Realty, LLC v. United States" on Justia Law

Konig’s SRI Employment Agreement, stated: I agree ….To promptly disclose… all discoveries, improvements, and inventions, including software … during … my employment, and … to effect transfer of ownership … to SRI . . . . I understand that termination of this employment shall not release me from my obligations. While employed by SRI, Konig started generating documents relating to a personalized information services idea called “Personal Web” and formed a company, Utopy. Konig left SRI and filed a provisional patent application in 1999; the 040 patent issued in 2005. In 2001, Konig asked an SRI scientist to test the Utopy products. The 040 patent was eventually assigned to PUM. Konig filed another patent application in 2008. PUM was the assignee; the 276 patent issued in 2010. In 2009, PUM sued Google, asserting infringement. PUM provided interrogatory responses that asserted that the conception of the inventions was while Konig was still at SRI. Google had acquired “any rights” that SRI had and counterclaimed breach of contract. The court stated that no reasonable juror could have found that the injury was “inherently unknowable,” applied the three-year limitations period for contracts claims, and granted PUM judgment on the counterclaim. The court also entered judgment of invalidity and noninfringement. The Federal Circuit affirmed, noting that the claim construction had no effect on the outcome and declining to issue an advisory opinion. View "Personalized User Model, LLP v. Google, Inc." on Justia Law

Bannum protested decisions of the Bureau of Prisons of the U.S. Department of Justice to award two contracts to other bidders, alleging a common defect in the terms of the solicitations and problems in the evaluation of competing bids. Bannum cited a requirement of compliance with Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, 42 U.S.C. 15601–15609 and the government’s failure to provide pricing information with respect to the requirement. In each case, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed Bannum’s suit. Finding that Bannum’s proposal, by failing to commit Bannum to a fixed price, was materially out of compliance with the terms of the solicitation, the court concluded that Bannum was not an “interested party” entitled to bring its protest under 28 U.S.C. 1491(b). The Federal Circuit affirmed in consolidated appeals, holding that, because Bannum did not adequately present its objection to the solicitations before the awards, Bannum waived its ability to challenge the solicitations. On appeal, Bannum failed to preserve its separate challenges to the bid evaluations. View "Bannum, Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law

The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) made a $267 million loan to Open Range to finance construction of wireless broadband networks in 540 RUS-approved markets. Open Range subcontracted with G4S. The FCC suspended a permit, so that Open Range lost the spectrum rights necessary to operate the planned network. RUS gave notice of its intent to terminate remaining funds on the loan unless Open Range could obtain replacement rights. Open Range began failing to meet its obligations to subcontractors. The Secretary of Agriculture made loan money available, provided a press release, and offered to reassure subcontractors, but Open Range was unable to regain the full spectrum rights necessary to complete the original project. RUS and Open Range executed an amendment to reflect a loan amount reduced to $180 million, and 160 RUS-approved markets, but Open Range remained unable to satisfy its debts and filed for bankruptcy. G4S filed suit. The Claims Court held that G4S was not a third party beneficiary to the agreement. The Federal Circuit affirmed, stating that G4S asked that the government incur liability simply because it talked to the individuals in charge of a failing project in an attempt to fix the problems. View "G4S Tech., LLC v. United States" on Justia Law

In 2003, the VA entered into a contract with Reliable for electrical improvements at a VA medical center, requiring installation of three backup generators, “new and of the most suitable grade.” Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.211-5, incorporated by reference, requires that supplies be “new, reconditioned, or remanufactured,” and defines “new” as “composed of previously unused components.” Reliable sub-contracted to Fisk, which contracted with DTE. In 2004, DTE delivered two Cummins Power Generation generators to the construction site. The VA’s senior resident engineer inspected the generators and determined that they were not “new.” He wrote to Reliable, stating: They show a lot of wear and tear including field burns to enlarge mounting holes. Are they new and will you certify them as such? I cannot pay you … without that certification. Fisk and Reliable initially agreed that the generators did not meet the contract specification. After investigation, they concluded that the generators, manufactured in 2000, had been previously purchased by others but never used. Fisk obtained different generators, which were accepted by the VA. In 2007, Reliable submitted a claim, seeking $1,100,000 for additional costs incurred as a result of rejection of the original generators. In 2013, the Board of Contract Appeals denied Reliable’s claim. The Federal Circuit vacated, holding that the Board erred in its interpretation of the contract. View "Reliable Contracting Grp., LLC v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs" on Justia Law

The Forest Service awarded EM Logging a timber sale contract for the Kootenai National Forest in Montana. The contract’s load limit clause states that “[a]ll vehicles shall comply with statutory load limits unless a permit from the Forest Service and any necessary State permits are obtained,” the haul route clause states that “[a]ll products removed from Sale Area shall be transported over the designated routes of haul” and a notification clause requires that “Purchaser shall notify Forest Service when a load of products … will be delayed for more than 12 hours in reaching weighing location.” The provision under which the Forest Service terminated the contract refers to: “a pattern of activity that demonstrates flagrant disregard for the terms of this contract.” The Forest Service issued multiple notifications of breach with respect to the clauses, suspended operations, and terminated the contract. The Federal Circuit reversed, finding that one instance of route deviation necessitated by illness, one load limit violation, and two instances of delayed notifications. None of the alleged violations independently substantiated the finding of flagrant disregard. Even together, the violations were not substantial evidence of a pattern of activity demonstrating that EM’s actions were in flagrant disregard of the contract. View "EM Logging v. Dep't of Agric." on Justia Law

In 2004, K-Con entered into a contract with the federal government to construct a Coast Guard building in Port Huron Michigan for $582,641. Once K-Con finished, the government imposed liquidated damages of $109,554 for tardiness of 186 days in completion. KCon sued, seeking remission of the liquidated damages on two grounds—that the contract’s liquidated-damages clause was unenforceable and that KCon was entitled to an extension of the completion date. KCon also requested additional compensation based on work performed in response to government requests that K-Con alleges amounted to contract changes. The Court of Federal Claims held that the contract’s liquidated damages clause was enforceable; that K-Con did not comply with the written-notice precondition for invoking the contract clause governing changes; and that K-Con’s claim for an extension on the completion date must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The Federal Circuit affirmed. K-Con failed to comply with the changes clause, and its after-the-fact speculations about what would have happened had it complied do not create a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether it should be excused for its failure. View "K-Con Bldg. Sys., Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law

Higbie, a Criminal Investigator for the U.S. State Department, contacted equal employment opportunity (EEO) counsel to complain of alleged reprisal by the Department for his activities, which he claimed were protected under the Civil Rights Act. Higbie successfully requested that his complaint be processed through the Department’s alternative dispute resolution program. Higbie repeatedly inquired whether the mediation proceedings would be confidential. State Department representatives confirmed that they would be. Higbie’s supervisors, including Cotter and Thomas, signed the mediation agreement, which included a confidentiality provision. The parties did not resolve their dispute through mediation. Cotter and Thomas provided affidavits to the EEO investigator that discussed Higbie’s statements in the mediation and cast his participation in a negative light. Higbie filed suit, claiming retaliation, discrimination, and violation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act. The district court dismissed the ADRA claim. Amending his complaint, Higbie alleged a claim sounding in contract for breach of the confidentiality provision. The Court of Federal Claims concluded that Higbie had not established that the agreement could be fairly read to contemplate money damages, and dismissed his complaint for lack of jurisdiction under the Tucker Act. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Higbie v. United States" on Justia Law

In 1997, Memorylink’s founders approached Motorola about jointly developing a handheld camera that could wirelessly transmit and receive video signals. After a successful demonstration, they sent Motorola a letter, agreeing “that any patents would be jointly owned by Motorola and Memorylink,” agreeing that Motorola should “head up the patent investigation,” and providing a “Wireless Multimedia Core Technology Overview for Patent Review” Motorola’s attorney sent a letter concerning the patent applications, stating an understanding that the inventors were Memorylink’s founders and Motorola employees Schulz and Wyckoff. A proposed patent filing agreement was enclosed. The named inventors signed an invention disclosure and an Assignment of rights to Motorola and Memorylink. Memorylink sued Motorola in 2008, alleging patent infringement and torts sounding in fraud, and seeking a declaration that the Assignment was void for lack of consideration. The district court rejected Memorylink’s argument that its claims did not accrue until an inventorship problem was discovered and dismissed most claims, reasoning that Memorylink should have known that the Motorola employees were not co-inventors in 1998, so that its claims were untimely. The court found that the consideration issue was a contract claim, not time-barred, but granted Motorola summary judgment. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Memorylink Corp. v. Motorola Solutions, Inc." on Justia Law