Judge rejects Apple's request for sanctions against patent troll lawyers

Arendi S.A.R.L. previously filed a lawsuit against Google, in which Apple was not involved. However, Apple tried to sanction Arendi's lawyers and witnesses for leaking trade secrets during the trial, but failed. You may have heard of Arendi S.A.R.L., a patent troll company, because it has been involved in multiple patent lawsuits involving Apple, Google, and Samsung. Apple tried to invalidate a patent in 2016 on the grounds of "common sense."

The lawsuit between Google and Arendi began in 2013, and in May 2023, Apple claimed that Arendi's lawyers and a witness leaked confidential information during a deposition. According to Bloomberg, Judge Jennifer L. Hall of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware dismissed Apple’s sanctions against Sussman Godfrey’s Seth Ader and witnesses.

Hall said: "The court witnessed the entire trial process, including related events. The court does not believe that the plaintiff's attorneys or their experts disobeyed the court's order, that the attorneys or experts intentionally disobeyed the court's order, and that Apple was harmed."

Apple claimed in its sanctions motion in May that it sat in on the trial out of concern that Arendi would reveal confidential information. In September 2021, Apple and Arendi settled another lawsuit with a confidentiality agreement.

In the Google case, Arendi's expert review allegedly leaked data during hypothetical questions, violating the confidentiality provisions of the agreement. Apple said Arendi did not request a court lockdown ahead of questioning.

Arendi countered in an objection filing that Apple's request is "convoluted and, worse, would give Arendi's attorneys an improper incentive to make the request." Arendi twice asked the court to close the courtroom when it anticipated a question might lead to discussion of Apple's confidential information, the filing said.

On December 28, the judge rejected Apple’s request for sanctions through an oral order. Currently, Arendi is still in litigation with several companies over patent infringement allegations.