Micron Technology, Inc. v. Rambus Inc. (Micron II)

645 F.3d 1311 (2011)

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Micron Technology, Inc. v. Rambus Inc. (Micron II)

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
645 F.3d 1311 (2011)

RW

Facts

In early 1998, Rambus Inc. (defendant) and its lawyer met to discuss how to get battle ready for possible litigation against companies they suspected of infringing Rambus’s patents. On the lawyer’s advice, in mid-1998 Rambus launched an aggressive new record-retention policy, sharply limiting how long records were kept, erasing email backup tapes, and discarding documents that a courtroom adversary might find helpful. In December 1998, Rambus and its lawyer finalized their litigation game plan, with the first court filing set for about a year later. In September and October 1999, Rambus held shred days in order to destroy 300 boxes of records. Rambus sued its first target, Hitachi, in January 2000. The Hitachi lawsuit put Micron Technology, Inc. (Micron) (plaintiff), another suspected patent infringer, on alert. Micron sued for a declaratory judgment that Rambus’s aggressive spoliation program rendered Rambus’s patents unenforceable against Micron. The crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege forced Rambus to disclose its correspondence with its lawyer. Based largely on that evidence, the federal district court found Rambus guilty of intentional spoliation and ruled in Micron’s favor. Rambus appealed to the Federal Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Linn, J.)

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