HEAVY SANCTIONS LEVIED FOR DISCOVERY ABUSE IN THE QUALCOMM V. BROADCOM PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE; LITIGATORS AND LAW FIRMS TAKE NOTE

In Sanctions Order of January 8, 2007, Magistrate Barbara Major ordered Qualcomm to pay $8.5 million for "monumental" discovery abuses in its patent infringement suit against Broadcom. While that order has been vacated and a new trial ordered, the order is only vacated as to six of Qualcomm's outside attorneys who were also sanctioned but not financially penalized Order dated March 5, 2007. Qualcomm's appeal of the earlier order is still pending, and Qualcomm has challenged the trial court's jurisdiction in the case.

Late in trial, a Qualcomm witness revealed that hundreds of thousands of Qualcomm emails, key to Broadcom's waiver defense, had been withheld from the defense, in what the court characterized as blatant, purposeful, and egregious discovery abuse.

While the six outside attorneys maintain their position of non-involvement, litigators and law firms have heard another wake-up call in the area of e-discovery and Rule 37 sanctions.

Central to the discovery problem in Qualcomm, and other major discovery abuse cases, is the precarious relationship between the big corporate client, its in-house counsel, and the outside attorneys working on the case. Particularly problematic, is electronic discovery. and control and communication issues in gathering requested electronic information.

Here are a few pertinent articles on Qualcomm sanctions and the ongoing litigation. Heavy Sanctions Loom Against Attorneys for e-Discovery; Legal Technology - Qualcomm Case Sends Tremors Nationwide; and IPToday.com - Intellectual Property Today - Qualcomm v. Broadcom.