Aegis’s Attempt To Reverse The District Court’s Preliminary Injunction Denied By The Seventh Circuit, Life Spine Announces
August 11, 2021
HUNTLEY, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Life Spine won a ruling in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the District Court’s preliminary injunction, which prohibits Aegis Spine, Inc. and its business partners from marketing, selling, or distributing devices in the AccelFix-XT product line.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the injunction on March 15, 2021, and the injunction went into effect on April 5, 2021. The District Court issued the injunction after finding that Aegis and its parent company, L&K Biomed Co. Ltd., used Life Spine’s proprietary ProLift expandable cage to develop the AccelFix-XT product line. As the District Court explained, Aegis used its access to ProLift as Life Spine’s distributor to “discover the underlying specifications of the ProLift and then shared that information with surgeon consultants and L&K to reverse engineer the ProLift.” Accordingly, the District Court found that Life Spine is likely to succeed at trial in proving several of its claims, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
After reviewing the District Court’s opinion and the record, the Seventh Circuit commended the District Court for its “meticulous,” “thorough,” and “precise” analysis and noted that Aegis “d[id] not come close” to showing that the District Court committed any factual errors that might warrant reversal.
The Seventh Circuit’s denial of Aegis’s appeal confirms that Aegis cannot market or sell AccelFix-XT until Life Spine’s claims are decided by a jury.
Life Spine’s CEO Michael Butler said of the ruling: “We are gratified that the Seventh Circuit validated our claims just as the District Court did in entering the preliminary injunction. We appreciate that our proprietary ProLift Expandable Implants will remain protected under the Seventh Circuit’s ruling, and we look forward to presenting our case to a jury.”
About Life Spine
Life Spine is dedicated to improving the quality of life for spinal patients by increasing procedural efficiency and efficacy through innovative design, uncompromising quality standards, and the most technologically advanced manufacturing platforms. Life Spine, which is privately held, is based in Huntley, Illinois. For more information, please visit: http://www.lifespine.com.
Contacts
Heather Glaser
General Counsel
hglaser@lifespine.com
847-884-6117
