Qualcomm sanctioned for not providing files in patent trial
Qualcomm Inc. was sanctioned and six of its former lawyers will face investigation by the State Bar of California for failing to turn over thousands of documents in a patent infringement trial against rival chip maker Broadcom Corp.
The penalty was imposed Monday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major in San Diego after Qualcomm, the world’s second-largest maker of semiconductors for mobile phones, and its lawyers failed to turn over 46,000 documents and didn’t explain how so much evidence related to Broadcom’s trial defense was overlooked.
The lawyers “assisted Qualcomm in committing this incredible discovery violation by intentionally hiding or recklessly ignoring relevant documents,” Major said in her ruling. “The sanctioned attorneys then used the lack of evidence to repeatedly and forcefully make false statements and arguments to the court and jury.”
Major ordered five in-house Qualcomm lawyers and the six outside attorneys to undergo a “comprehensive” program for preventing future trial abuses.
She also ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom $8.6 million for legal bills. She said that amount was already covered by U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster’s order in December that Qualcomm pay $9.3 million of Broadcom’s costs plus interest.
Qualcomm in January 2006 lost a jury trial over claims that Broadcom infringed its patents on compressing digital video.
Irvine-based Broadcom, a maker of chips for cable television boxes and devices such as Apple Inc.’s video iPod, and San Diego-based Qualcomm have been battling in court for more than two years as Broadcom seeks a bigger share of the market for chips used in advanced mobile phones. In May, Broadcom won a jury trial in Santa Ana over claims that Qualcomm infringed three patents.
In August, Brewster found that Qualcomm failed to turn over more than 200,000 pages of documents relevant to the San Diego case and should pay Broadcom’s legal fees.
Major referred lawyers James Batchelder, Adam Bier, Kevin Leung, Christopher Manmen, Lee Patch and Stanley Young to the California bar for an investigation into possible ethical violations.
