Plaintiff’s False and Misleading Testimony Concerning Standing Warrants Attorney Fees Award

​ Following a dismissal for lack of standing, the court granted defendants' motion for attorney fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285 because plaintiff's litigation conduct was unreasonable. "Plaintiff’s conduct throughout this litigation, culminating in his untruthful testimony at the hearing on the motion to dismiss, demonstrates a pattern of obfuscation and bad faith. Every time Defendants or the Court identified a defect in his standing, Plaintiff responded with a promise that he could produce evidence that would resolve that defect. Those promises never bore out. . . . The Court rejects Plaintiff’s latest attempts to recharacterize his conduct as mere 'zealous pursuit of his good faith claim of ownership.' Plaintiff is not simply the hapless victim of overstatement or bad lawyering; he made false and misleading representations to Defendants and the Court that resulted in, among other things, prejudice to Defendants in the form of significant legal fees incurred in defending this action."

Raniere v. Microsoft Corp., 3-15-cv-00540 (TXND September 2, 2016, Order) (Lynn, USDJ)