Woodard Emhardt Obtains Order Finding Exceptional Case and Awarding Fees in Litigation of Patent for Processing Ethanol Byproducts

In a multi-district case involving 26 defendants, Judge Miller of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, granted the defendants’ motion for an order declaring the case exceptional and awarded attorneys’ fees. The original suit alleged that the defendants infringed plaintiff’s family of patents relating to ethanol production processes. The ensuing litigation culminated in the Court finding that the patents were invalid and not infringed by any defendant. Those findings were further bolstered at a trial in which the Court then found the patents unenforceable due to inequitable conduct by the attorneys. In consideration of the Court’s previous holdings, Judge Miller reasoned that the defendants had shown that this case was exceptional and appropriate for fees. Woodard Emhardt attorneys Spiro Bereveskos , Dan Lueders, and Lisa Hiday represent Defendant Iroquois Bio-Energy Company, LLC.