Knobbe Martens is pleased to announce that its 2016 jury verdict on behalf of client CardiAQ has been recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the largest verdicts of 2016. The publication ranked the $70 million win in CardiAQ Valve Technologies, Inc. v. Neovasc Inc. as the #6 IP verdict and #21 overall on its list of “Top 100 Verdicts of 2016,” making it one of the most significant intellectual property awards of last year. The National Law Journal’s affiliate, VerdictSearch, compiles its annual list of the top 100 verdicts by gross jury award through attorney submissions, targeted research, and news reports, including other American Lawyer Media publications. The full list of rankings can be viewed here.
On May 19, federal jurors at the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts in Boston spent just one day deliberating before awarding CardiAQ $70 million, finding that defendant and former service provider Neovasc breached its nondisclosure agreement with CardiAQ and misappropriated three of CardiAQ’s trade secrets. CardiAQ filed its trade secret lawsuit against Neovasc in 2014 for misappropriating its transcatheter mitral valve replacement technology – a minimally invasive alternative for patients facing open heart surgery – while providing valve assembly services five years earlier.
On October 31, the court awarded CardiAQ an additional $21 million in enhanced damages, and granted CardiAQ co-founders Arshad Quadri, M.D. and J. Brent Ratz co-inventorship of the Neovasc transcatheter mitral valve patent. The decision makes Edwards Lifesciences, which acquired CardiAQ in 2015 for $400 million, co-owner of the Neovasc patent.
Knobbe Martens Partners John Sganga and Christy Lea served as CardiAQ’s litigation counsel, and were assisted by Partners Brian Horne and Josh Stowell at trial. “We are pleased to receive this recognition of CardiAQ’s substantial jury award,” Sganga said. “CardiAQ’s founders spent years developing this transformative technology, and the considerable size of this award confirms the importance of protecting innovative trade secrets.”
Knobbe Martens ranks regularly in the annual listings of top jury awards. The firm placed fifth in The National Law Journal’s “Top 100 Verdicts of 2014” for its $466 million award in favor of client Masimo Corp. in Masimo Corp. v. Philips Electronics North America Corp and Philips Medizin Systeme Boblingen GmbH.
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