Claim Construction of Patents-in-Suit in Prior Litigation Precludes Further Construction Absent Convincing Argument

The court ordered the parties to submit additional briefing addressing whether claim construction of the patents-in-suit in a prior lawsuit precluded further construction of those claims. "[B]oth [patents-in-suit] were the subject of a previous patent infringement suit brought by [defendant] against [plaintiff] in this Court . . . . In [the prior lawsuit], the Court held a Markman hearing and, thereafter, set forth its construction of the disputed claim terms of the [patents-in-suit]. Neither party challenged the Court's construction of those terms when appealing its summary judgment decisions to the Federal Circuit. . . . [T]he parties now argue that many of those terms are 'disputed' in the present action. However, neither party's brief addresses or explains why issue preclusion (collateral estoppel) does not apply . . . . Instead, they apparently presume that the Court's previous constructions of [the patents-in-suit] are simply open to review. . . . [N]either party has explained to the Court why its original construction of the claim terms should be revisited at all. Such revision requires the assertion of a convincing argument against issue preclusion."

Ball Metal Beverage Container Corporation v. Crown Packaging Technology, Inc. et al, 3-12-cv-00033 (OHSD December 20, 2013, Order) (Rice, J.)