No Attorneys’ Fees for Oil, Gas Company Despite Patent Case Win

Oil and gas exploration company FMC Technologies Inc. can’t recover attorneys’ fees after winning an infringement lawsuit involving its fluid-processing patents, the Federal Circuit ruled, clarifying instances in which aggressive litigation conduct won’t justify such an award.

A district court’s refusal to grant summary judgment to FMC early in the case proves that its competitor’s infringement claims concerning fluid-processing equipment known as “Christmas trees” were not blatantly egregious, Senior Judge Raymond C. Clevenger wrote in a precedential opinion Tuesday.

“When a district court, fully aware of the competing contentions of the parties, declines to end the case on summary judgment ...