Judge Stark has denied a motion to dismiss claims of willful infringement from an amended patent infringement complaint. The plaintiff had previously filed and the Court granted a motion to amend its complaint to include a claim of willful infringement based on longstanding knowledge of a patent-in-suit. The defendant then moved to dismiss this newly-added claim under Rule 12(b)(6). See Cloud Farm Associates, L. P. v. Volkswagen Group of Am., Inc., C.A. No. 10-502-LPS, Memorandum Op. at 1-2 (D. Del. July 2, 2013). Judge Stark explained that he had “already addressed the sufficiency of [the plaintiff’s] pleading.” Id. at 3. “The Court considered and rejected [the] argument” that amendment of the complaint was “futile because it would not survive a motion to dismiss.” Id. Because the plaintiff “provides no reason for the Court to reconsider this conclusion,” and its motion “merely repackages its opposition to the earlier motion to amend,” the motion presented “neither an appropriate nor necessary occasion to delve further into . . . potentially competing lines of authority.” Id. at 3-4. Accordingly, Judge Stark denied the motion to dismiss.
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