Barnes & Thornburg Attorneys Secure $2 Million Judgment

On Dec. 11, Mark Hagedorn and Liz Peters of the Chicago office secured a $2 million judgment in a case representing AAR Manufacturing, Inc., a client of Jeff Gray of the Chicago office, against the United States government. AAR, the exclusive licensee of a patent directed to a portable containerized shelter, was the lead party in bringing the suit against the government’s Army division for patent infringement in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The Army had procured infringing Mobile Integrated Remains Collection Systems (MIRCS) from a third party under the government’s “authorization and consent” leading to the government’s liability under 28 U.S.C. Sect. 1498. After an administrative claim showed no significant attention from the government, AAR filed suit against the government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Mark and Liz helped obtain a favorable claim construction ruling, and subsequently secured the judgment against the U.S. without incurring the full expense of litigation and within a very limited window favorable to AAR’s year-end accounting procedures.