Davenport, Iowa -- McKool Smith has secured a complete defense win for Bush Hog, Inc., and parent company Alamo Group Inc., in a patent infringement suit brought by Deere & Co.
The verdict was announced on December 19, 2013, after a 14-day jury trial before Judge Charles R. Wolle in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Davenport Division. The jury found that Bush Hog and Alamo Group did not infringe Deere & Co.’s rotary cutter patent and that the patent is invalid, rejecting the plaintiffs’ request for up to $16 million in damages.
The accused products included Bush Hog's model 2710 and 2715 Legend Flex Wing rotary cutters. McKool Smith’s trial team successfully argued that the patent was not infringed because Bush Hog designed a different way to implement a dual-deck design that was awarded its own patent in 2010.
Deere & Co. originally filed the suit against Bush Hog LLC (now Duroc, LLC), the predecessor to Bush Hog, Inc., and Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. in June 2009, claiming that products manufactured by the companies infringed U.S. Patent Number 6,052,980, which relates to dual-deck rotary cutters. In August 2011, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Wolle granted summary judgment of non-infringement in favor of the defendants; however, the case was revived by the Federal Circuit in December 2012.
“Our client is extremely pleased with the verdict,” said Scott Hejny who served as lead trial counsel for Bush Hog and Alamo Group. “The jury participated in a 14-day trial, and did a remarkable job considering the evidence and weighing the facts.”
The McKool Smith trial team representing Bush Hog and Alamo Group included attorney Scott W. Hejny. Bush Hog and Alamo Group were also represented by co-counsel Bill Graham of Graham, Ervanian & Cacciatore, LLP.
The case is Deere & Co. v. Bush Hog LLC et al., case number 3:09-cv-00095, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
With more than 185 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC, McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. Over the past seven years, the firm has secured eight nine-figure jury verdicts, as well as seven eight-figure jury verdicts. The firm has also won more National Law Journal and VerdictSearch "Top 100 Verdicts" over the last five years than any other law firm in the country. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.” McKool Smith represents leading clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense matters.
For additional information, please contact Michael R. Coston at 212-402-9450 or mcoston@mckoolsmith.com.