Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. v. Union Oil Co.

Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. (Verdegaal) (plaintiff) owned U.S. Patent No. 4,310,343 (the ‘343 patent), which related to a liquid-fertilizer-making process. Claims 1, 2, and 4 of the ‘343 patent disclosed a process involving a chemical reaction between urea and sulfuric acid in the presence of a nonreactive heat sink (i.e., a batch of recycled fertilizer known as a “heel”). The process contemplated adding water to the heat sink in an amount not greater than 15 percent of the end product, adding urea in an amount at least 50 percent of the end product’s total weight, and adding sulfuric acid in an amount at least 10 percent of the end product’s total weight. Verdegaal sued Union Oil Company (defendant), asserting that Union Oil’s liquid-fertilizer-manufacturing processes infringed the ‘343 patent. A jury found that the ‘343 patent was valid and that Union Oil’s processes infringed claims 1, 2, and 4. Union Oil moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). Union Oil argued that the ‘343 patent’s claims were invalid because they were anticipated by teachings found in the Stoller patent, which the jury had been instructed was prior art. The district court denied Union Oil’s motion, and Union Oil appealed. On appeal, Union Oil asserted that it had presented evidence showing that the Stoller patent detailed a process for making urea-sulfuric acid fertilizer by adding 15 percent water, 50 percent urea, and at least 10 percent sulfuric acid to a recycled-fertilizer heel. Verdegaal argued that (1) the Stoller patent did not anticipate Verdegaal’s patent because the Stoller patent’s method involved adding sulfuric acid slowly, while Verdegaal’s claimed process allowed for rapid addition of sulfuric acid, and (2) the Stoller patent did not explicitly identify the heel as a heat sink. However, (1) the relevant claims contained no limitations regarding how fast sulfuric acid could be added, and (2) the Stoller patent discussed the heel’s function as a heat sink given the reaction’s high temperature.