Federal Circuit Nixes $166.3M Verdict Against AT&T as Based on Flawed Expert Testimony

In January 2023, an East Texas jury returned a verdict that awarded inventor-controlled Finesse Wireless, LLC just over $166.3M in damages. The jury found that AT&T (AT&T Mobility) had infringed ten claims from two patents over the use of certain base stations within its cellular network, with Nokia having intervened as the manufacturer of the accused base stations. Now, the Federal Circuit has overturned that verdict in a September 24 precedential decision, finding that it had been based on flawed testimony from the plaintiff’s infringement expert—including some the court found to be “contradictory”, “confusing”, and “unclear”—and thus could not stand.