Delaware Judge Bars Early Dismissal of Willfulness Allegations

A federal judge in Delaware denied Inquis Medical Inc.'s motion to dismiss rival Inari Medical’s willfulness allegations, ruling that such requests in patent cases can’t be thrown out early because enhanced damages are a form of relief, not standalone claims.

Judge Colm F. Connolly, in an opinion issued Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, said he’d “erred” in past cases by allowing defendants to seek dismissal of willfulness and indirect-infringement claims and that he’ll deny such motions going forward. “Such a demand,” he wrote, “is not a claim that can be dismissed” under a procedural ...