Peloton Keeps Rolling After Latham Scores Dismissal in Patent Infringement Suit

Just a couple of months before trial, Latham scored a significant win for Peloton with the dismissal of a patent infringement suit filed by competitor Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. in the US District Court Eastern District of Texas. 

Peloton moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that the asserted patents failed to meet subject matter eligibility requirements under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This motion remained pending as the parties moved forward with claim construction, fact and expert discovery, and prepared for trial.

Over the course of discovery, Latham gained ground for Peloton at each turn, including obtaining key admissions about the technology at issue, assembling compelling evidence of invalidating prior art, and producing voluminous expert reports detailing Peloton’s non-infringement and the invalidity of Mad Dogg’s patents. Even so, the team kept pace against a tight case calendar, which had trial scheduled for this December, just short of a year from when the complaint was filed.  

The motion to dismiss was argued in August 2021, and on September 15, 2021, Judge Rodney Gilstrap granted Peloton’s motion to dismiss the case and found “a clear absence of factual allegations to support the eligibility of the patents-in-suit.” Judge Gilstrap found that the patents were directed to an abstract idea and that Mad Dogg’s complaint lacked sufficient factual allegations to establish that the patented subject matter includes any “inventive concept.” Judge Gilstrap concluded that the appropriate remedy was to dismiss the case without prejudice, and closed the case entirely.

The Latham team included, among many other key contributors, partners Steve Feldman, Doug Lumish, Gabe Gross, Gabriel Bell, Michael Reiss, and counsel Sarah Gragert.