Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix, Ferrari and Daimler AG are the latest defendants to be dismissed in a massive federal patent suit over safety technology used in Formula One racing.
In a one-page order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright dismissed the three parties, who now join professional drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles LeClerc in being cleared from the litigation.
The lawsuit, brought last year by plaintiff Jens Nygaard, alleges the recently-dismissed defendants, Formula One, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Red Bull Racing and others infringed on Nygaard’s patented technology for the “Halo” and “Aeroscreen” devices now used in race cars.
Mercedes-Benz, Ferarri and Daimler’s lawyers at Hogan Lovells and Morgan Lewis had argued that their clients should be dismissed on the customer-suit exception, a legal precedent that says litigation over the supplier or manufacturer of the infringing goods takes precedence over a suit against the customers when both are named in the litigation.
They argued that the true defendant is the FIA, the professional racing governing body that regulates the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin and requires all F1 racing teams to use the Halo device.
Nygaard’s lawyers had argued that the customer-suit exception does not apply for several reasons, including that it does not apply to the FIA.
Lawyers at Hogan Lovells, Morgan Lewis and Fish & Richardson (who represent Nygaard) did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
For more information on the lawsuit and Texas lawyers involved, find The Lawbook’s previous report here.