Intuitive Wins Judgment Before Surgical Robot Claims Go to Jury

Intuitive Surgical Inc. convinced a federal judge to toss antitrust claims that it monopolized the market for surgical robots, under a ruling that the plaintiff didn’t have sufficient evidence to support its allegations.

Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday granted Intuitive its motion for judgment as a matter of law before the closing of an ongoing trial in which plaintiff Surgical Instrument Service Co. Inc. sought more than $140 million in damages. The jury was discharged.

“SIS cannot prove a necessary element of each of its claims under Sections 1 ...