NuVasive Says Appeals Court Overturns Damages Award In Medtronic Lawsuit

(RTTNews) - Medical device maker NuVasive Inc (NUVA) said that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the damages award in the company's ongoing patent lawsuit with Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA, Inc., a unit of Medtronic plc (MDT), and Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc.

NuVasive said the appeal challenged a September 2011 jury verdict in the first phase of the litigation between NuVasive and Medtronic.

The jury had found that the three remaining patents at issue in the appeal were infringed, awarding total monetary damages of $660,000 to NuVasive and about $102 million to Medtronic, which included lost profits, the sale of ancillary or "convoyed" products and royalties.

However, on March 2, 2015, the three Judge panel of the Court of Appeals issued a unanimous decision that upheld the jury's finding of liability as to all patents, but overturned the damage award against NuVasive as improper.

The Court of Appeals held that the damages award was erroneous because Medtronic is not permitted to recover damages for lost profits or for the sale of convoyed products.

NuVasive said that absent further proceedings on appeal, the case will be returned to the District Court for further proceedings to determine a proper damage award based solely on a reasonable royalty. The company noted that timing of a retrial to determine the new damages amount is difficult to predict, but could occur later in 2015.