Judges say ugly things about lawyers, and lawyers sometimes return the favor. Most of the time, the criticism stays in bounds, especially in the from-lawyer-to-judge direction. But what happens when the lawyer takes such offense that he protests to a higher court, which believes that “there appears to be some force to his arguments on the merits”?
The lawyer probably will just have to lick his wounds and go home. So said the Federal Circuit today in dismissing a lawyer’s appeal from a judgment against his client. Nisus Corp. v. Perma-Chink Systems, Inc., Nos. 06-1592 & 07-1142 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 13, 2007).
The district court found that the lawyer engaged in “inequitable conduct” in prosecuting a patent, which the court therefore deemed unenforceable. Noting that the parties had settled the case and that the district court did not purport to impose any sanction on the lawyer, the Federal Circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the court’s finding.
Barry Barnett
