Judge Reverses Jury Award to Young Inventor
A Los Angeles federal judge has reversed a potential $19-million judgment awarded to a young motorcycle mechanic who successfully sued Suzuki Motor Co. over patent rights to a suspension system he invented in his garage.
In a ruling made public Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William P. Gray ordered a new trial on Donald G. Richardson’s claims that the Japanese cycle manufacturer stole his invention when it marketed a new “full floater” suspension system on many of its models.
The judge also vacated the jury’s finding that Suzuki had defrauded Richardson when it enlisted his help to develop and market his suspension system, then marketed a similar system of its own.
“In effect, Judge Gray determined that the evidence submitted during the trial did not support the claim that any trade secrets existed,” said Richard S. Rockwell, attorney for Suzuki.
“Further, the ruling reinforces what we have always said: that Suzuki dealt with Mr. Richardson in good faith and that Suzuki’s inventions belong to Suzuki, not to Mr. Richardson,” the lawyer said.
Suzuki has claimed from the beginning that it halted development work with Richardson only after learning that his floating suspension system, which prevents motorcycles from bottoming out on rough surfaces, was very much like other suspension systems used over the years.
But Theresa Wagner Middlebrook, attorney for Richardson, who developed and patented the suspension system at the age of 19, said the judge upheld about $190,000 in damages based on Suzuki’s use of some of Richardson’s material, even though there was no finding that trade secrets had actually been violated.
Unfair Advantage
Moreover, Middlebrook said she expects a new jury to agree with the original panel, which found last March 27 that Suzuki took unfair advantage of Richardson’s work on a new rough-terrain suspension system that eventually netted the corporation millions of dollars.
“The jury agreed with Mr. Richardson,” she said. “This is absolutely no vindication of Suzuki. In fact, it gives the plaintiff an opportunity to go back and do it again. We are confident that another jury will return a verdict in conformance with the first verdict, if not greater.”
In any case, she said, Gray’s ruling will be appealed.
Attorneys had disagreed from the beginning on the amount of damages the jury awarded, primarily because of a dispute over the number of motorcycles Suzuki has sold using a suspension system similar to the one Richardson invented.
Richardson’s lawyers claimed that the total award would reach $19 million; Suzuki estimated total potential damages at $6 million.
