Sampson v. Sony Corporation of America, 132

• Decision Date: 10 November 1970
• Docket Number: No. 132,Docket 34591.,132
• Citation: 434 F.2d 312
• Parties: Sidney O. SAMPSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

434 F.2d 312 (1970)

Sidney O. SAMPSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 132, Docket 34591.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Submitted October 21, 1970.

Decided November 10, 1970.

Sidney O. Sampson, pro se.

Lewis H. Eslinger, Curtis, Morris & Safford, Garo A. Partoyan, New York City, for defendant-appellee.

Before WATERMAN, FRIENDLY and FEINBERG, Circuit Judges.

WATERMAN, Circuit Judge:

On April 18, 1967, appellant Sampson was granted U.S. Patent No. 3,315,041 (hereinafter referred to as '041) for "Track Selection Control Means for Magnetic Signal Recording and Reproducing Systems." In May 1967 Sampson filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for alleged infringement of '041. The present suit against Sony Corporation of America (Sony) was commenced in September 1967 and it raises essentially the same issues as those raised in the RCA case. A third suit, filed against Ampex Corporation (Ampex), was commenced in October 1968.

RCA moved for summary judgment in its case, and Sampson and Sony entered into the following stipulation, dated September 26, 1968:

It is stipulated and agreed, by and between the parties to this action that they will be bound in all respects as to all issues raised and joined in this action by the decision and opinion of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Honorable Edward C. McLean, District Judge, on the pending motion of defendant Radio Corporation of America for a summary judgment in the case of Robot Education Systems, Inc. and Sidney O. Sampson v. Radio Corporation of America, 67 Civil 1818. * * *

Judge McLean granted summary judgment for RCA on the ground that the '041 patent was invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) because of Sampson's own publication of the alleged invention more than one year prior to the earliest effective application filing date.

Sampson moved for reargument in the RCA case, and an additional stipulation, dated November 12, 1968 and signed by Judge Cannella, was entered into by Sampson and Sony. This second stipulation read:

It is stipulated and agreed by and between the parties to this action, this honorable Court consenting, that inasmuch as the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in a decision and opinion entered October 25, 1968 by the Honorable Edward C. McLean, in Robot Education Systems, Inc. and Sidney O. Sampson v. Radio Corporation of America, 67 Civil 1818 has, on a Motion for Summary Judgment, held the patent in the present suit to be invalid, such decision and opinion being binding on the present parties by reason of a stipulation, a copy of which is attached hereto and whereas a "Motion for Reargument" and "Supplementary Argument to Plaintiff\'s Memorandum filed November 1, 1968" have been filed on November 1, 1968 and November 6, respectively, in 67 Civil 1818;

That the effective date of the pretrial order by the Honorable Sidney Sugarman, Chief Judge, entered on September 18, 1968, be postponed until June 1, 1969 * * * * *

On December 3, 1968, Judge McLean denied Sampson's motion for reargument in the RCA case, and an appeal to this court was filed, but because of a settlement between Sampson and RCA with respect to '041 and eight other patents not in suit, the appeal was not perfected.

On May 29, 1969, Sony, relying on the initial stipulation, moved under Rule 12(c), Fed.R.Civ.P. to dismiss the complaint in the present action. Sampson, apparently in an attempt to undercut Sony's motion, filed a motion under Rule 60(b), Fed.R.Civ.P., to vacate the judgment in the RCA case. Judge Ryan denied Sampson's motion to vacate the RCA judgment and, on the basis of the initial stipulation, dismissed the complaint against Sony. Appeals were taken from both orders, but have been treated separately by this court. We are here concerned solely with the order dismissing Sampson's complaint in the Sony case.¹

Sampson contends that inasmuch as the initial stipulation was not filed with the court it was, and is, ineffective, that it was superseded and nullified by the November 12 stipulation, that Sony is barred by laches...