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Litigation and Other Matters
12 Months Ended
Sep. 28, 2013
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Litigation and Other Matters
13. Litigation and Other Matters

On June 9, 2010, Smith & Nephew, Inc. (“Smith & Nephew”) filed suit against Interlace, which the Company acquired on January 6, 2011, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint alleged that the Interlace MyoSure hysteroscopic tissue removal device infringes U.S. patent 7,226,459. The complaint sought permanent injunctive relief and unspecified damages. A Markman hearing on claim construction was held on November 9, 2010, and a ruling was issued on April 21, 2011. On November 22, 2011, Smith & Nephew filed suit against the Company in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint alleged that use of the MyoSure hysteroscopic tissue removal system infringed U.S. patent 8,061,359. The complaint sought preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and unspecified damages. On January 17, 2012, at a hearing on Smith & Nephew’s motion for preliminary injunction with respect to the suit filed on November 22, 2011, the judge did not issue an injunction, consolidated the two matters for a single trial and scheduled a trial on the merits for both claims for June 25, 2012. A case management conference held on February 14, 2012 resulted in the trial being rescheduled to begin on August 20, 2012. On March 15, 2012, the Court heard summary judgment arguments related to the ‘459 patent and claim construction arguments related to the ‘359 patent. On June 5, 2012, the Court denied Smith & Nephew’s request for summary judgment of infringement, denied Smith & Nephew’s request for preliminary injunction, and denied the Company’s requests for summary judgment of non-infringement and invalidity. On September 4, 2012, following a two week trial, the jury returned a verdict of infringement of both the ‘459 and ‘359 patents and assessed damages of $4.0 million. A bench trial regarding the Company’s assertion of inequitable conduct on the part of Smith & Nephew with regard to the ‘359 patent was held on December 9, 2012 and oral arguments on the issue of inequitable conduct were presented on February 27, 2013. On June 27, 2013, the Court denied the Company’s motions related to inequitable conduct and allowed Smith & Nephew’s request for injunction, but ordered that enforcement of the injunction be stayed until final resolution, including appeal, of the current re-examinations of both patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The Court’s decision to stay the injunction is based in part on the fact that the USPTO has taken up a re-examination of both the ‘359 and ‘459 patents. The Court also rejected the jury’s damage award and has ordered the parties to identify a mechanism for resolving the damages issue. On September 12, 2013, a status conference was held and the Court invited the parties to submit briefs on the relevance of recent activity in the re-examinations at the USPTO. A hearing on this topic was held on October 29, 2013, and the parties await the Court’s ruling. The Company intends to file post-trial motions seeking to reverse the jury’s verdict. At this time, based on available information regarding this litigation, the Company believes a loss is not probable and is unable to reasonably assess the ultimate outcome of this case or determine an estimate, or a range of estimates, of potential losses, beyond the pending jury verdict. The purchase and sale agreement associated with the acquisition of Interlace includes an indemnification provision that provides for the reimbursement of a portion of legal expenses in defense of the Interlace intellectual property. The Company has the right to collect certain amounts set aside in escrow and, as applicable, offset contingent consideration payments of qualifying legal costs. The Company is recording legal fees incurred for this suit pursuant to the indemnification provision on a net basis within accrued expenses.

On February 10, 2012, C.R. Bard (as acquirer of SenoRx, Inc., “SenoRx”) filed suit against the Company in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In the complaint, it is alleged that the Company’s MammoSite product infringes SenoRx’s U.S. Patents 8,079,946 and 8,075,469. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and unspecified damages. On September 4, 2012 and October 16, 2012, the USPTO took up a re-examination of the ‘946 and ‘469 patents, respectively. With respect to the ‘469 patent, all previously issued claims were rejected and with respect to the ‘946 patent all but four claims were rejected. Based on the actions of the USPTO, the Company filed a motion seeking to stay all litigation proceedings pending the outcome of the USPTO’s re-examination of both patents in suit. On January 11, 2013, the Court issued an order denying the stay. On February 1, 2013, the Court entered a stay of the proceedings in the case to allow the parties to pursue settlement discussions. On May 31, 2013, the parties settled the litigation and entered into an agreement under which the Company purchased SenoRx’s Contura assets.

On March 6, 2012, Enzo Life Sciences, Inc. (“Enzo”) filed suit against the Company in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In the complaint, it is alleged that certain of the Company’s molecular diagnostics products, including without limitation products based on its proprietary Invader chemistry, such as Cervista HPV HR and Cervista HPV 16/18, infringe Enzo’s U.S. Patent 6,992,180. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and unspecified damages. The Company was formally served with the complaint on July 3, 2012, and a trial is tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2015. In January 2012, Enzo filed suit against Gen-Probe in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In that complaint, it is alleged that certain of Gen-Probe’s diagnostics products, including products that incorporate Gen-Probe’s patented HPA technology, such as the Aptima Combo 2 and Aptima HPV assays, infringe Enzo’s U.S. Patent 6,992,180. On September 30, 2013, Enzo amended its list of accused products to include Prodesse, Torch Oligos, PACE and Procleix assays. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and unspecified damages, and a trial is tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2015. At this time, based on available information regarding this litigation, the Company is unable to reasonably assess the ultimate outcome of this case or determine an estimate, or a range of estimates, of potential losses.

Prior to its acquisition by Hologic, Gen-Probe had patent infringement claims against Becton Dickinson (“BD”) seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief. The parties settled this litigation in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Under the terms of the settlement, BD made a one-time payment and was granted a non-exclusive royalty-bearing license to the asserted intellectual property.

A number of lawsuits were filed against the Company, Gen-Probe, and Gen-Probe’s board of directors related to the Company’s acquisition of Gen-Probe. These include: (1) Teamsters Local Union No. 727 Pension Fund v. Gen-Probe Incorporated, et al. (Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Diego); (2) Timothy Coyne v. Gen-Probe Incorporated, et al. (Delaware Court of Chancery); and (3) Douglas R. Klein v. John W. Brown, et al. (Delaware Court of Chancery). The two Delaware actions were consolidated into a single action titled: In re: Gen-Probe Shareholders Litigation. The suits were filed after the announcement of the Company’s acquisition of Gen-Probe on April 30, 2012 as putative stockholder class actions. Each of the actions asserted similar claims alleging that Gen-Probe’s board of directors failed to adequately discharge its fiduciary duties to shareholders by failing to adequately value Gen-Probe’s shares and ensure that Gen-Probe’s shareholders received adequate consideration in the Company’s acquisition of Gen-Probe, that the acquisition was the product of a flawed sales process, and that the Company aided and abetted the alleged breach of fiduciary duty. The plaintiffs sought, among other things, a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining the Company’s acquisition of Gen-Probe and rescinding the transaction or any part thereof that had been implemented. On May 24, 2012, the plaintiffs in the Delaware action filed an amended complaint, adding allegations that the disclosures in Gen-Probe’s preliminary proxy statement were inadequate. The defendants in the Delaware action answered the complaint on June 4, 2012. On July 18, 2012, the parties in the Delaware action entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding a proposed settlement of the litigation. The proposed settlement was conditioned upon, among other things, the execution of an appropriate stipulation of settlement, consummation of the merger, and final approval of the proposed settlement by the Delaware Court of Chancery. On April 10, 2013, the Delaware Court of Chancery approved the proposed settlement and the consolidated action in Delaware was dismissed with prejudice. On July 9, 2012, the plaintiffs in the California action filed a motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice. On July 12, 2012, the California Superior Court entered an order dismissing the California complaint without prejudice.

On October 29, 2013, the Interlace stockholder representatives filed a complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging breach of contract for issues related to the payment of contingent consideration under the Interlace Merger and Acquisition Agreement, and are seeking $14.7 million in additional payments. The Company believes that Interlace has been paid all amounts due under the Merger Agreement and their claims are without merit. Hologic is currently preparing its answer to the complaint. At this time, the Company is unable to reasonably assess the ultimate outcome of this case.

The Company is a party to various other legal proceedings and claims arising out of the ordinary course of its business. The Company believes that except for those described above there are no other proceedings or claims pending against it of which the ultimate resolution would have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations. In all cases, at each reporting period, the Company evaluates whether or not a potential loss amount or a potential range of loss is probable and reasonably estimable under ASC 450, Contingencies. Legal costs are expensed as incurred.