You Makes Your Choice And Takes Your Chances
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 05.30.06
The Federal Circuit in the Winstar -related case of Old Stone Corp. v. U.S. (May 25, 2006) struck down a $118 million restitutionary damages award to the bank, explaining that, because the bank decided to continue operating after the breach occurred, attempting to make a go of it despite the government's breach, it had waived its right to declare a "total breach" and collect restitutionary damages to put it back in the pre-contracting situation when it went under several years later. On the other hand, foreseeable damages directly related to mitigating the effects of the breach, in this case $74.5 million, were available, and that part of the judgment was affirmed.
Insights
Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
