(Friday, November 22, 2013 – Tyler, Texas): A jury of five (5) women and two (2) men from Tyler, Texas returned a verdict for Houston-based L.C. Eldridge Sales Co., Ltd. and Leseman Davis LLC (“Eldridge”) for the full amount Plaintiff requested in L.C. Eldridge Sales Co., Ltd., et al., v. Jurong Shipyard Pte., Ltd., et al., 6:11-cv-599-MHS. Eldridge accused international defendants of copying its oil-rig exhaust system covered by U.S. patent 7,707,828 and manufacturing for, selling to, and using the infringing product on three U.S. oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Paul Yetter and Gil Gillam presented closing arguments for the plaintiff and defendants, respectively. Despite Mr. Gillam’s fervent representation, the jurors found for the plaintiff across the board—direct, induced, and willful infringement by the defendants. Responding to the attorneys’ questions after the verdict came down, the jurors stated that it was not the attorneys that swayed them but the evidence and the facts that were presented.
For Plaintiff: Eric Hugh Findlay, Roger Brian Craft, and Walter Wayne Lackey, Jr. of Findlay Craft here in Tyler; and Eric P. Chenoweth, Christopher Ryan Johnson, R. Paul Yetter, and Thomas M. Morrow from Austin and Houston.
For Defendant: Harry Lee “Gil” Gillam, Jr. and Melissa Richards Smith of Gillam & Smith here in E.D. Texas; and Carrie Ryan Gallia, Christopher Ryan Sullivan, and David A. Allgeyer of Lindquist & Vennum out of Minneapolis.
