Recent Successes 2007 Archive
June 6, 2007
In a June 6, 2007 order, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a motion by Lear Corporation to stay a preliminary injunction entered by Judge James B. Moran of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in favor of Fitch Even client, The Chamberlain Group, Inc., the nation's leading garage door opener manufacturer, and co-plaintiff Johnson Controls Interiors, LLC.
Chamberlain and JCI sued Lear for infringement relating to patented technology for controlling garage door operators under Chamberlain's U.S. Patent No. 6,154,544. Following extensive briefing and patent claim construction proceedings, the District Court granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by Chamberlain and JCI in a March 30, 2006 opinion and order. The court entered the preliminary injunction in an April 25, 2006 order enjoining Lear from making, using or selling its accused device (although permitting Lear to continue to make deliveries for certain vehicle programs currently incorporating the accused device). As part of its order in support of the preliminary injunction, the District Court found that Chamberlain and JCI established a strong likelihood that Lear's device infringed Chamberlain's patent and that the infringement is causing irreparable harm to Chamberlain and JCI.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in denying Lear's motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal, found that Lear failed to meet its burden to establish either 1) a strong likelihood of success on the merits, or 2) a substantial case on the merits provided that the harm factors militate in its favor.
Chamberlain is represented by Karl Fink, Rudy Kratz, Nick Peters and John Flannery.
