Texas Judge Upholds $4.7 Million Attorney Fees in Highmark Case

Law360 reports that a Texas federal judge upheld an award of approximately $4.7 million in attorneys' fees to Highmark Inc. in its long-running dispute against Allcare Health Management Systems Inc. Following a successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the district court found that Allcare's unsuccessful prosecution of an information management system patent claim remained exceptional in light of the new standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Octane Fitness LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness Inc. 

The court initially found that Allcare failed to conduct an adequate pre-filing investigation into its infringement claims, pursued its claims even after its own experts showed them to be without merit, and used phony surveys to identify Highmark and other companies as targets in order to demand licensing fees. According to the decision, the findings were more than enough to support the case as exceptional. 

Highmark was represented by Gardere Partners Craig Florence and Robert Slovak, and Super Lawyer Cindy Kernick of Reed Smith LLP. 

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