Plaintiff's Misrepresentation of Rights to Asserted Patents Justifies Discovery to Support Possible Sanctions

The court partially granted defendant's motion to sanction plaintiff under FRCP 37 and the court's inherent authority because plaintiff misrepresented that it was the owner of three patents-in-suit but in fact lacked standing to sue. "The Court orders [plaintiff's Rule 30(b)(6) witness] to submit to a deposition in Texarkana under the supervision of [the special master] on topics related to [plaintiff's] knowledge of the [license agreements] only recently produced, despite [plaintiff's] false representation to Interrogatory No. 13 directed to license agreements; [plaintiff's] decision to assert the disputed patents despite its lack of standing; [plaintiff's] lack of knowledge of the lack of standing; and all documents that are the subject of [defendant's] pending Motion for an Order Stripping [Plaintiff] of Claimed Privileges and In Camera Review of Documents. The Court denies [defendant's] request for monetary sanctions at this time. . . . [However], [defendant] may re-raise this aspect of the motion following the limited discovery allowed above."

Keith Manufacturing Co. v. Cargo Floor BV, 5-15-cv-00009 (TXED October 27, 2017, Order) (Craven, MJ)