Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice

Judge Steger passes away

Senior U.S. District Judge William Steger passed away last night following an extended illness.  Judge Steger, who was 85, handled more than 15,000 cases in 35 years on the federal bench in Tyler.
Judge Steger began his career of government service as a fighter pilot during and shortly after World War II.  He volunteered to fly Spitfires with the Royal Air Force during the war, as well as piloting P-47 Thunderbolts with the Army Air Corps, and flying some of the first jet fighters shortly after the war.  After obtaining his law degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Judge Steger moved to Tyler, where he was instrumental in the growth of the Republican Party of Texas, running for governor in 1960, and for Congress in 1962.  He served as state party chairman from 1969-1970.  Judge Steger was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas in 1953 by President Eisenhower, and served for six years.  He was appointed to the federal bench in 1970 by President Nixon.  Judge Steger took senior status in 1987, but continued to handle a full docket.  As local practitioners will attest, Judge Steger was the model for many of the Eastern District's current judges, most of whom broke in trying cases before him.  Judge Steger's clerks recently hosted a 35th anniversary celebration of his career, and raised substantial sums for a scholarship in his name at Baylor Law School.
The memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 at the Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler.  There will be a private burial service at 2:00 p.m at Rosehill Cemetery prior to the memorial service.  Family visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at Burks, Walker, Tippitt Funeral Home in Tyler.

Patent case affirmed in part & reversed in part by Federal Circuit

Ferguson Beauregard/Logic Controls v. Mega Systems, L.L.C., 2001 WL 34771614 (E.D.Tex. Dec 13, 2001) (NO. CIV.A. 6:99CV437), aff'd in part, rev'd in part & remanded, 350 F.3d 1327 (Fed. Cir. 2003), on remand - 2004 WL 3217801 (E.D.Tex. Jun 21, 2004)
Judge: William Steger
Division: Tyler
Holding: 
COMMENTS:
This is a patent case dealing with the "AutoCycle" oil and gas well controller.  Special master Danny Williams prepared the claims construction, and by consent of the parties, Special Master Gale Peterson conducted the trial in this patent case, and prepared a report and recommendations for Judge Steger.  The 2001 opinion is by Judge Steger adopting the special master's report and recommendations, which are appended to it.  Judge Steger modified the damages from a reasonable royalty to lost profits (increasing it from $100,000 to $408,456), and extended the judgment to cover an additional product as to one of the defendants, which added another $8,370 in damages.  Judgment was entered in accordance with this opinion at 2002 WL 32814008 on Feb. 6, 2002.
Enter the Federal Circuit. 

On December 4, 2003 the Federal Circuit (Linn, J.) affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated and remanded in part.  Specifically, it held that because the district court erroneously construed certain claim limitations of the '991 patent, it reversed the district court's claim construction, vacated the determination that the device did not infringe, and remanded the issue for further findings consistent with the Federal Circuit's claim construction. It affirmed the court's conclusion that the defendant did not induce infringement based on the correct legal standard applied by the court to the facts in evidence. It also reversed the court's denial of the defendant's motion to amend the complaint to reassert an assertion of willful infringement previously stricken by the court, noting that the heightened pleading requirement applicable to fraud claims does not apply to claims for willful patent infringement and remanded for further proceedings on that issue. It affirmed the district court's refusal to consider whether the plaintiff engaged in inequitable conduct when it successfully revived the '048 patent, noting that the heightened pleading requirement applicable to fraud claims does apply to claims of inequitable conduct before the Patent Office.

On the cross-appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's claims construction, but because it believed the district court abused its discretion in determining the amount of the damage award for infringement, it vacated the award and remanded the issue of damages for redetermination. Finally, it affirmed both the district court's determination that that patent did not infringe the patent and the district court's evidentiary ruling under 35 U.S.C. § 282.  Judge Rader Rader concurred, stating that "[t]his case illustrates a proper search for 'customary' meaning", which will, no doubt, warm Judge Steger's heart.
On remand, Judge Steger entered judgment, and the bankruptcy court approved the settlement agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant in bankruptcy.

Summary Judgment Granted on Harassment/Overtime Claims

Harvill v. Westward Communications, LLC, 311 F.Supp.2d 573 (NO. 6:02 CV 511)
Judge: Steger
Division: Tyler
Date: March 25, 2004
Holding: Defendant's Motion for Suymmary Judgment GRANTED.
COMMENTS:
Plaintiff alleged that she was sexually harassed at work and was denied overtime pay. Judge Steger granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment, holding that: (1) the alleged conduct was not so severe and pervasive as to alter terms and conditions of employment; (2) the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of the employer's corrective opportunities; (3) the employer was not liable under the Fair Labor Standards Act for failure to pay overtime because it did not have constructive knowledge of any failure to pay employee overtime; and (4) the employee failed to exhaust administrative remedies as to her constructive discharge claim.