An East Texas jury has awarded Whirlpool Corp. $7.6 million, finding that a California company willfully infringed the patent protecting Whirlpool’s replacement water filters for refrigerators.

The jury delivered the verdict against TST Water, LLC, on March 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall. The finding that the patent infringement was “willful” means the award total could be tripled, a decision to be made by Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

Ward, Smith & Hill founder Johnny Ward represented Whirlpool as lead counsel alongside attorneys from the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster LLP.

“The evidence clearly showed that TST Water willfully infringed Whirlpool’s patent,” said Mr. Ward. “The jury rightfully discounted TST’s claims that the patent was invalid. The amount the jury awarded demonstrates that.”

The lawsuit involved Whirlpool “Filter 3” refrigerator filters, which carry the U.S. Patent No. 7,000,894. The company claimed TST Water intentionally copied the Filter 3 design in the development of its WSW-5 and HDX FMW-5 refrigerator filters, which were sold under the brand name WaterSentinel and the label “HDX.” TST Water promoted the installation and use of the filters as an alternative to the Filter 3 in Whirlpool refrigerators.  

The case is Whirlpool Corporation v. TST Water, LLC, case 2:15-cv-01528-JRG in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has tried more than 350 cases to verdict, earning a national reputation in high-stakes claims involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, oil and gas matters, bad faith insurance claims, and serious personal injury claims. The firm frequently assists lawyers nationwide in complex cases before Texas juries. To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.wsfirm.com.

For more information, contact Sophia Reza at 800-559-4534 or sophia@androvett.com.