Insights & Events

Hollingsworth LLP and Atlantic Legal Foundation have secured another amicus win. On May 21, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a $20 million jury verdict against Google in a patent infringement case, ruling that the trial court abused its discretion by improperly admitting unreliable expert testimony on damages. The court held that plaintiff-appellee EcoFactor’s damages expert failed to meet the standards of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert when he asserted that three lump-sum license agreements supported a per-unit royalty rate. The case was remanded for a new trial on damages.

In a strongly worded en banc decision, the Federal Circuit emphasized that trial courts must rigorously scrutinize whether an expert’s opinions are grounded in sufficient facts and reliable methods – not just credentials. The court found that EcoFactor’s expert testimony improperly treated EcoFactor’s unilateral assertions in license recitals (which disclaimed any royalty rate) as evidence that other companies had “agreed” to the $X rate.

Mirroring the amicus brief language, the court detailed the history of Rule 702 and the purpose behind the 2023 amendments to the Rule – seizing the opportunity to clarify how district courts across the nation should handle expert testimony in patent cases. The court echoed concerns raised by the amici about experts going beyond what their methodology supports, stressing that trial courts must act as gatekeepers and exclude opinions that lack a reliable factual basis. The decision is a major win for the proper application of Rule 702 and one more victory in the fight for due process and the fairness of trials. Counsel for the amicus brief were firm partner, Eric G. Lasker, firm associate, Katherine E. Nolan, and Lawrence S. Ebner of Atlantic Legal Foundation.