Northern District of Georgia Washes Out Cross-Motions For Sanctions

Posted on | March 20, 2008 | No Comments

08-1181 ChemFree v. McClure
ND/GA Case No. 00-CV-1530

Plaintiff ChemFree Corporation appeals
Judge J. Owen Forrester’s order denying in part ChemFree’s motion
for sanctions and to enforce the parties’ settlement agreement
after Defendant McClure challenged the ownership and validity of
patents he assigned to ChemFree as part of a settlement.  After a
protracted dispute regarding ownership of several patents related to bio-washers (using microorganisms to wash machine parts), the
parties settled.  ChemFree agreed to pay McClure $500,000 in exchange
for executing an assignment of roughly 40 patents, with payments
spanning four years.  Shortly after settling, ChemFree stopped
payments and claimed that McClure had breached the settlement by,
among other things, testifying in a separate Chemfree patent action
that he owned the patents he assigned to Chemfree and providing
numerous documents regarding the patents to ChemFree’s opponent.
Judge Forrester split the baby, ordering Chemfree to make all back
payments under the settlement agreement and enjoining McClure from
making statements of ownership.  Perhaps most interesting is the fact
that the Court refused to agree that the settlement agreement does
create an implicit obligation on McClure’s part to refrain from
challenging the validity of the patents.

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