More than a year ago, we chronicled the rare tale of a stay that lasted all the way through an appeal to the Supreme Court. Thinking a stay could not possibly last any longer that that, we titled that post "The Final Frontier for Stays."
It turns out that we were right!
But only barely!
The Original Series
When last we saw our embattled litigants in Hologic, Inc. et al. v. Minerva Surgical, Inc., C.A. No. 20-295-SRF, the Federal Circuit had upheld Judge Fallon's ruling that Minerva's invalidity defenses were barred by assignor estoppel, but the Supreme Court had granted cert to examine the doctrine. Judge Fallon thus ordered a stay "until the exhaustion of all appeals."
The Next Generation of Appeals Was in Many Ways Superior, But Ultimately Lost Momentum In Later Seasons . . .
Only about 4 months later, the Supreme Court issued its decision, declining to reject the doctrine altogether but clarifying its scope and remanding the case to the Federal Circuit.
About a year after that, the Federal Circuit reached its decision on remand and once again held that Minerva's defenses were barred by assignor estoppel.
One would imagine that this would be the end of the stay, but Minerva requested en banc rehearing. Hologic apparently felt that this was at last a bridge too far and moved to lift the stay.
Judge Fallon granted the motion just 2 days after the reply brief was filed.
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