In the News

“In AlexSam v. Aetna, the Federal Circuit recently revived the patentee's infringement lawsuit against health insurance giant Aetna over its Visa and Mastercard-branded health savings account (HSA) debit cards. AlexSam, Inc. v. Aetna, Inc., No. 22-2036 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 8, 2024) . . . The case will likely be highly cited by future infringement plaintiffs seeking to overcome motions to dismiss, especially whether allegations in the complaint are unduly conclusory."

(October 13, 2024)
See PATENTLYO.COM
Link to article
"In the Court’s only precedential patent opinion last week, a panel of the Federal Circuit granted appellant AlexSam a second chance to hold health-care giant Aetna accountable for alleged infringement of its patent claims concerning the use of payment cards in connection with health-care charges....The Federal Circuit vacated those aspects of the dismissal which were challenged on appeal, and found that the license agreement was not dispositive with regard to AlexSam’s claims at the pleading stage. The higher court also disagreed with the district court that AlexSam had failed to plausibly allege infringement by Aetna itself. In the process, the Court expressly held for the first time that a district court’s determination of whether a complaint allegation is “conclusory” for pleading purposes is subject to de novo review, without deference to the lower court’s findings."

(October 15, 2024)
See JDSUPRA.COM
Link to article
“[W]e have not explicitly set out the standard of review applicable to a trial court’s categorization of a complaint’s allegations.... We hold today that our review of trial court determinations on these matters is de novo." – CAFC Opinion
AlexSam, Inc. v. Aetna, Inc., CAFC Case No. 2022-2036

(October 8, 2024)
See IPWATCHDOG.COM
Link to Opinion
Link to Article

“The Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday that MasterCard will have to continue litigating against a patent litigation outfit that the credit card company has been fighting for almost a decade over language in a 2005 patent licensing agreement, with one judge pointing out that the case 'illustrates the importance of carefully reviewing the language in a covenant not to sue.' The nonprecedential opinion, issued unanimously and penned by U.S. Circuit Judge Kara Stoll, marked the second time that the appeals court undid a win the credit card brand scored in New York federal court in its lengthy legal saga with a Texas-based patent business called AlexSam Inc."

AlexSam, Inc. v. Mastercard Int'l, Inc. CAFC Case No. 2022-2046
(February 28, 2024) See LAW360.com

Link to Opinion
Link to Article

"A Georgia woman who developed a virtual closet application has sued a patent lawyer and his former Am Law 100 employer for breach of fiduciary duty. Fulton County plaintiffs Brittany Fletcher Beckham and Lutzy Inc. claim Baker Hostetler counsel's 'mishandling' of patent applications resulted in a conflict of interest that blocked the plaintiff from activating her app."

Beckham v. Baker & Hostetler, LLP, N.D. GA, Case No. 1:22-cv-04420-MHC (2022)
(October 10, 2022) See LAW.COM - The Daily Report

Link to Complaint

"This new class action alleges that General Motors sold cars coated with defective paint. That causes the vehicles’ exteriors to peel, crack, become cloudy and delaminate. Plaintiffs Bryon Lyman, Kelly McAteer, Jason Merkel and Mark Volk filed the class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC on July 9 in a California federal court. They allege violations of state and federal laws."

Bryon Layman et al v. General Motors, LLC, C.D. CA, Case No. 2:24-cv-05786
(July 15, 2024) See TOPCLASSACTIONS.COM

Link to Article