FloodBreak Wins $17.8 Million Judgement in Patent Damages Lawsuit
FloodBreak, LLC, a Texas-based company, prevailed recently in a patent infringement lawsuit filed in 2018 against plaintiffs Art Metal Industries and Kevin F. Biebel in Connecticut Federal Court. In the suit, FloodBreak alleged that AMI And Biebel had willfully infringed FloodBreak’s Patent No. 9,752,324 covering innovative Mechanical Closure Devices to protect vertical vent shafts against street flooding. In a stipulated judgement approved by the court, AMI and Biebel were found to have directly and willfully infringed and induced infringement of FloodBreak’s patent. A judgement of $17.8 Million was entered against the defendants in favor of FloodBreak for these willful acts, and they were permanently enjoined from further acts of infringement.
Lou Waters, president of FloodBreak, said “Although we never wish to be in a legal proceeding, after multiple attempts to negotiate with Mr. Biebel we were forced to file this suit in Connecticut to stop Mr. Biebel and AMI from continuing to infringe our intellectual property. We are pleased that the results confirmed and strengthened our intellectual property portfolio and are working diligently to collect the damages owed by Mr. Biebel and AMI.”
Among other uses, FloodBreak’s patented devices have been installed the by New York City Transit Authority to protect extensive sections of the subway system against future events after Superstorm Sandy devastated the city in 2012. FloodBreak continues to build and install these and many other innovative flood protection systems in the USA and worldwide.
