A Massachusetts judge awards $600,000 in damages and $4.5 million in legal fees to St. Jude Medical Inc. subsidiary LightLab Imaging in its long-running legal battle with would-be Volcano Corp. unit Axsun Technologies.
A Massachusetts judge handed St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) a $5.1 million win in a long-running legal battle with Volcano Corp. (NSDQ:VOLC) involving two of their subsidiaries.
St Jude’s LightLab Imaging Inc. unit, acquired last year, won $600,000 in damages and $4.5 million in legal fees from would-be Volcano pick-up Axsun Technologies Inc. Judge Margaret Hinkle of the Mass. Superior Court wrapped up three trials (including a jury trial) in her final decision, finding San Diego, Calif.-based Volcano and Billerica, Mass.-based Axsun guilty of breaching certain terms of a development and supply contract between the Bay State firms and of “misappropriation of trade secrets,” according to court documents.
Inside an Automated Healthcare Practice: Redesigning Care Around People, Not Paperwork
By reducing administrative burden and redesigning workflows around human needs, it creates space for what matters most: connection between clinicians and patients.
Little Canada, Minn.-based St. Jude bought Westford, Mass.-based LightLab for $90 million last summer.
Hinkle’s decision also bars Volcano from finalizing its acquisition of Axsun, which it moved to buy out in 2008, until April 2014. But the judge denied LightLab’s move for an injunction against Axsun, as per a ruling issued in October 2010 rejecting claims for protection of five alleged trade secrets relating to laser technologies. In February 2010, the jury trial concluded with a finding that Axsub violated its contract with LightLab to supply tunable lasers to LightLab until 2016.
Volcano president and CEO Scott Huennekens said his company is happy to put the two-year case in its rear-view mirror.
“After two-plus years of litigation, we are gratified by the court’s decision,” Huennekens said. “With LightLab’s trade secret allegations now behind us, we will continue to focus our energy on developing key products that improve patient care.”
The Power Behind Enterprise EHR Software for Large Healthcare Systems
Enterprise EHR boosts scalability, interoperability, and governance for large healthcare systems.
And Volcano was quick to point out that the $5.1 million hit it’s taking could be a lot worse — LightLab initially sought more than $200 million in damages and $8.9 million in legal fees, according to a Volcano press release.
A St. Jude spokeswoman did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment.
The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is the online journal of the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England, providing day-to-day coverage of the devices that save lives, the people behind them, and the burgeoning trends and developments within the industry.
This post appears through the MedCity Influencers program. Anyone can publish their perspective on business and innovation in healthcare on MedCity News through MedCity Influencers. Click here to find out how.