In re Relafen Antitrust Litigation

• Decision Date: 29 November 2004
• Docket Number: No. MASTER FILE, 01-12239-WGY.,MASTER FILE, 01-12239-WGY.
• Citation: 346 F.Supp.2d 349
• Parties: In re RELAFEN ANTITRUST LITIGATION.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

346 F.Supp.2d 349

In re RELAFEN ANTITRUST LITIGATION.

No. MASTER FILE, 01-12239-WGY.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

November 29, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

William Alper, Cohen, Pontani, Lieberman & Pavane, New York, NY, Meredyth Smith Andrus, Office of the Maryland Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Baltimore, MD, Richard Alan Arnold, Kenny Nachwalter, PA, Miami, FL, Jacqueline E. Bryks, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, New York, NY, Michael M. Buchman, Milberg, Weiss, Bershad & Schulman LLP, New York, NY, Michael J. Boni, Kohn, Swift & Graf, Philadelphia, PA, Patrick E. Cafferty, Miller, Faucher and Cafferty, LLP, Ann Arbor, MI, Neill Clark, Berger & Montague, Philadelphia, PA, Brett T. DeLange, Idaho Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Unit, Boise, ID, Eric Cramer, Berger & Montague, Philadelphia, PA, Glen DeValerio, Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo, Boston, Ruth T. Dowling, Palmer & Dodge, LLP, Boston, MA, Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo, Boston, MA, Nancy F. Gans, Moulton & Gans, PC, Boston, MA, Daniel E. Gustafson, Heins Mills & Olson, P.L.C., Minneapolis, MN, Richard C. Heidlage, Attorney General's Office, Boston, MA, Samuel D. Heins, Heins Mills & Olson, P.L.C., Minneapolis, MN, Theodore M. Hess-Mahan, Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP, Boston, MA, Elizabeth J. Holland, Kenyon & Kenyon, New York, NY, Mayme A. Holt-Brown, Percy, Smith, Foote, & Gadel, LLP, Alexandria, LA, Michael J. Kane, Mager, White & Goldstein LLP, Jenkintown, PA, Robert N. Kaplan, Kaplan, Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, New York, NY, Richard J. Kilsheimer, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, New York, NY, Peter Kohn, Berger & Montague, Philadelphia, PA, Steven J. Lee, Kenyon & Kenyon One Broadway, New York, NY, Theodore M. Leiverman, Spector, Roseman & Kodroff, Philadelphia, PA, Lester L. Levy, Wolf, popper, Ross, Wolf & Jones, New York, NY, Richard D. Margiano, Cohen, Pontani, Lieberman and Pavane, New York, NY, James W. Matthews, Sherin and Lodgen LLP, Boston, MA, Robert J. Muldoon, Jr. Sherin & Lodgen LLP, Boston, MA, Jonathan D. Mutch, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., Boston, MA Tim D. Nord, Oregon Department of Justice, Salem, OR, Edward Notargiacomo, Hagens Berman LLP, Cambridge, MA, Linda P. Nussbaum, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, New York, NY, Joseph Opper, Garwin, Bronzaft, Gerstein & Fisher, New York, NY, Margaret H. Paget, Sherin & Lodgen, Boston, MA, David K. Park, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, New York, NY, David Pastor, Gilman and Pastor, LLP, Saugus, Douglas H. Patton, Dewsnup, King & Olsen, Salt Lake City, UT, Bernard Persky, Goodkind, Labaton, Rudoff & Sucharow, LLP, New York, NY, Scott E. Perwin, Kenny, Nachwalter, Seymour, Arnold, Critchlow & Spector, Miami, FL, Bradford J. Phelps, Office of the Attorney General of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, Robert W Pratt, Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Chicago, IL, Barry L. Refsin, Hangley, Aronghick, Segal & Pudlin, Philadelphia, PA, J. Douglas Richards, Milberg, Weiss, Berhsad & Schulman LLP, New York, NY, William H. Rooney, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, New York, NY, Hollis L. Salzman, Goodkind, Labaton, Rudoff & Sucharow, LLP, New York, NY, L. Kendall Satterfield, Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran, Washington, DC, Stephen H. Schwartz, Garwin, Bronzaft, Gerstein & Fisher, New York, NY, Thane D. Scott, Palmer & Dodge, LLP, Boston, MA, Steve D. Shadowen, Hangley, Aronchick, Segal & Pudlin, Harrisburg, PA, Jay B. Shapiro, Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.C., FL, Thomas G. Shapiro, Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP, Boston, MA, W. Scott Simmer, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., Washington, DC, David P. Smith, Percy, Smith, Foote, & Gadel, LLP, Alexandria, LA, Thomas M. Sobol, Hagens Berman LLP, Boston, MA, Eugene A. Spector, Spector & Roseman, Philadelphia, PA, Michelle M. Teed, Oregon Department of Justice, Salem, OR, Richard M. Volin, Thompson & Loughran Duvall Foundry, Washington, DC, Ann D. White, Mager White & Goldstein LLP, Jenkintown, PA, K. Craig Wildfang, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN, Pamela A. Zorn, Sherin and Lodgen LLP, Boston, MA, David M. Stark, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, New York, NY, Archana Tamoshunas, Garwin, Bronzaft, Gerstein & Fisher, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Matthew A. Porter, Dechert LLP, Boston, MA, Christopher N. Sipes, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC, Joseph A. Tate, Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Bernard J. Bonn, III, Abbey Gardy & Squitieri, New York, NY, George G. Gordon, Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Timothy C. Hester, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC, Kevin T. Kerns, Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

YOUNG, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

On December 19, 2003, this Court issued an order stating its conclusions regarding SmithKline's Motions for Summary Judgment [Doc. Nos. 169, 187, 193, 197, 202, 206]. Order of 12/19/03 [Doc. No. 229]. Since then, the parties to this action have largely settled their claims. See Order of 4/9/04 [Doc. No. 297]; Order of 1/20/04 [Doc. No. 28 in Walgreen Co. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., Civ. A. No. 02-10588-WGY]; Order of 1/20/04 [Doc. No. 11 in CVS Meridian, Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., Civ. A. No. 03-10040-WGY]; Order of 2/13/04 [Doc. No. 62 in Eon Labs., Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., Civ. A. No. 03-10506-WGY]. Nevertheless, in light of its implications for the role of civil juries generally, and for future antitrust cases more specifically, the Court sets forth a portion of the analysis that led to its order.

II. BACKGROUND

The background of this case is detailed more completely in Judge Lindsay's opinion resolving the underlying patent infringement action, In re '639 Patent Litig., 154 F.Supp.2d 157 (D.Mass.2001) (Lindsay, J.), and in this Court's previous Memoranda and Orders, In re Relafen Antitrust Litig., 286 F.Supp.2d 56 (D.Mass.2003); In re Relafen Antitrust Litig., 218 F.R.D. 337 (D.Mass.2003); Eon Laboratories, Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 298 F.Supp.2d 175 (D.Mass.2003); and In re Relafen Antitrust Litig., 221 F.R.D. 260 (D.Mass.2004). For purposes of the present motions, the relevant background is as follows.

A. Factual Background

On November 2, 1982, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the "Patent Office") rejected SmithKline's sixth application to patent nabumetone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug also described as methoxy ketone. In re '639 Patent Litig., 154 F.Supp.2d at 161, 169. In doing so, the Patent Office cited a 1973 article authored by J.N. Chatterjea and R. Prasad ("Chatterjea & Prasad"), who had previously named methoxy ketone and described a method for its synthesis. Id. at 162-63, 169. In light of Chatterjea & Prasad's prior publication, the Patent Office concluded that SmithKline's claims to solid nabumetone were invalid for obviousness and its claim to nabumetone per se was invalid for anticipation. Id. at 169. These conclusions were consistent with the early reports of SmithKline scientists, who had, in internal communications, also identified the Chatterjea & Prasad publication as an "existing literature procedure" and described the preparation of nabumetone "following the published methods." Id. at 165-66.

Yet in its interactions with the Patent Office, SmithKline maintained that the Chatterjea & Prasad publication was distinguishable on two bases. First, SmithKline argued before the Board of Patent Appeals that the Chatterjea & Prasad procedure produced a "thick pale yellow oil" unlike the solid nabumetone claimed by SmithKline. See Defs.' Noerr-Pennington App., Tab 11 (Decision of the Board of Patent Appeals) at 2. SmithKline scientist Dr. Carl Rose ("Dr.Rose") declared that he had obtained solid nabumetone only because he "diverged from [Chatterjea & Prasad's] described processes in that [he] purified the compounds carefully at each stage." Id. at 5 (quoting Rose Decl. ¶ 5). On the issue of anticipation, the Board of Patent Appeals ruled in SmithKline's favor, concluding, without reference to Dr. Rose's declaration, that the Chatterjea & Prasad publication did not disclose nabumetone in "solid form" and therefore did not anticipate SmithKline's solid-form claim. Id. On the issue of obviousness, however, the Board of Appeals ruled against SmithKline in favor of rejection. Id. at 7. The Board of Patent Appeals cited evidence, including Rose's declaration and SmithKline's report of obtaining solid nabumetone "after purification," which "suggest[ed] that Chatterjea's `thick pale yellow oil' may well have been an impure form of the claimed compound." Id. at 6. Because "correct and normal chemical procedure" included purifying intermediate and final compounds, the Board of Patent Appeals reasoned that it would have been obvious to the ordinary chemist to purify the oil described by Chatterjea & Prasad "and thereby obtain the compound ... in solid form." Id. at 6. SmithKline subsequently challenged this finding with an affidavit sworn by J.N. Chatterjea ("Dr.Chatterjea"), who stated that R. Prasad had originally synthesized nabumetone only to convert it to a corresponding derivative. See Defs.' Noerr-Pennington App., Tab 13 (Chatterjea Aff. ¶¶ 4, 5(b)). For this purpose, SmithKline urged, there was no reason to purify the nabumetone.

Second, SmithKline asserted more broadly that the Chatterjea & Prasad publication did not disclose nabumetone at all. SmithKline stated that further review of the Chatterjea & Prasad publication had revealed a flaw. In re '639 Patent Litig., 154 F.Supp.2d at 163. Although Chatterjea & Prasad described their starting material as methoxy acetate, they then cited an article authored by R.G. Jones who, due to an error (the "Jones error"), described the synthesis of hydroxy acetate rather than methoxy acetate. Id. SmithKline argued that the ordinary chemist, cognizant of the Jones error, would understand Chatterjea & Prasad to describe a series of reactions that...