Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tentative settlement reached in Luna Innovations case
Roanoke company, California firm gain extension to Oct. 8 to work out a final agreement.
Roanoke-based Luna Innovations Inc. has reached a preliminary settlement with a California company that won a $36.3 million verdict against it in a trade secrets case.
Luna and Hansen Medical Inc. "have developed a framework for settlement and would like additional time to negotiate and enter into definitive settlement agreements," attorneys on both sides of the case wrote in a letter today to bankruptcy Judge William Stone.
Although terms of the settlement were not made public, it appears to offer Luna an escape route from a verdict that had threatened to bring the company to its knees.
"This is part of a plan that has Luna emerging from bankruptcy and all of our creditors being paid 100 cents on the dollar," said Scott Graeff, the company’s chief operating officer.
After more than a week of intense talks, the two companies came to terms about 3 a.m. this morning, Graeff said.
"This is a big step for us to come to this point," he said.
Attorneys now have until Oct. 8 to draft a final agreement.
"We have to explode it into a 50- or 60-page document, but the attorneys have their marching orders: We’ve agreed to this," Graeff said.
Had a settlement not been reached, Stone likely would have either sent the case back to California or decided for himself how much of the verdict Luna must pay.
Luna and Hansen both develop heath care products, and in April a jury in Santa Clara found that Luna breached its contract and misappropriated trade secrets when it shared Hansen’s information with a third company.
Luna and Hansen Medical Inc. "have developed a framework for settlement and would like additional time to negotiate and enter into definitive settlement agreements," attorneys on both sides of the case wrote in a letter today to bankruptcy Judge William Stone.
Although terms of the settlement were not made public, it appears to offer Luna an escape route from a verdict that had threatened to bring the company to its knees.
"This is part of a plan that has Luna emerging from bankruptcy and all of our creditors being paid 100 cents on the dollar," said Scott Graeff, the company’s chief operating officer.
After more than a week of intense talks, the two companies came to terms about 3 a.m. this morning, Graeff said.
"This is a big step for us to come to this point," he said.
Attorneys now have until Oct. 8 to draft a final agreement.
"We have to explode it into a 50- or 60-page document, but the attorneys have their marching orders: We’ve agreed to this," Graeff said.
Had a settlement not been reached, Stone likely would have either sent the case back to California or decided for himself how much of the verdict Luna must pay.
Luna and Hansen both develop heath care products, and in April a jury in Santa Clara found that Luna breached its contract and misappropriated trade secrets when it shared Hansen’s information with a third company.
