J&J awarded $18m in fake surgical devices case
Judge enters default judgment and permanent injunction order after defendant failed to show in court | Alleged counterfeit medical tools were being sold under Ethicon brand.
Johnson & Johnson has won a damages sum of $18 million, after the pharma company filed a lawsuit over the sale of fake medical tools under its Ethicon brand.
Judge John Blakey entered a default judgment and permanent injunction order on July 21 at the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois against defendant and Pakistani national Mudassar Shah.
Shah had failed to plead or otherwise defend in this action, despite being properly served by Ethicon, the judge wrote. He was alleged to have purchased, distributed and sold counterfeit Ethicon surgical devices, which Ethicon claimed gave rise to significant damages.
J&J’s complaint, filed in July 2020 against Advanced Inventory Management which operates as eSutures, alleged federal and state trademark infringement, false description and designation of origin in commerce, state deceptive and unfair trade practices, among other claims.
It said that eSutures purchased, marketed, advertised, distributed and sold counterfeit Ethicon surgical devices in the US. The products included hemostats, surgical clips, and fixation devices designed to be left in the body after surgery, according to the original complaint.
According to J&J, the counterfeits “pose a serious risk to the health and lives of unsuspecting patients”, with Ethicon stating that a seizure had uncovered the fake products being made in unsterile conditions.
‘Failed to appear’
After Shah failed to plead in the case, Ethicon filed a motion requesting a default against him which was entered in February 2021.
Shah filed a motion to vacate the default, but this was denied in March 2022 after the court found he had “failed to establish good cause for his default or that he had a meritorious defence to the action”.
Following a further hearing in December 2022 that Shah failed to attend, the court has now granted the default judgment and permanent injunction.
Shah is permanently enjoined from selling, marketing, manufacturing or otherwise using any of the ‘Ethicon’ trademarks on any counterfeit or authentic products, or using any marks confusingly similar in connection with any products.
The injunction also prevents the defendant from representing himself as being connected or associated with Ethicon in any way.
J&J reached a settlement with eSutures in February 2021, in which Ethicon was awarded $6 million and eSutures was barred from buying, selling or distributing any products sold by J&J.
Advanced Inventory Management is based in Illinois, with a principal place of business in Mokena.
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