Cordis Corporation v. Medtronic AVE, Inc.
Economic Advice in Litigation
The Situation
A Delaware jury, although finding earlier that Medtronic AVE infringed Cordis patents related to cardiovascular stents, refused to award the $450 million that Cordis was seeking in damages, including $354 million in lost profits.
NERA's Role
Based on an econometric analysis of the stent market and of Cordis profit margins, a NERA economist concluded that Cordis's lost profits were no more than $193 million. NERA's economist also found that Cordis should be paid a lump sum payment of $1 million to compensate it for the stents that Medtronic AVE sold internationally, rather than the $46 million Cordis had claimed.
The Result
The jury agreed with NERA's expert, awarding $271 million in damages in all, rather than the $450 million that Cordis claimed. (In March 2002, Judge Robinson set aside the jury’s verdict that Medtronic AVE had infringed Cordis’s patents.)
