Bell Nunnally partners Jeffrey S. Lowenstein and Jeffrey A. Tinker, along with associates Saba F. Syed and Brent A. Turman, secured a unanimous jury verdict in favor of Odessa Separator, Inc., a Texas-based manufacturer of award-winning downhole sand and gas separation products that are used in oil wells throughout the world.

The lawsuit was brought by the inventors of the asserted patent and their exclusive licensee, Cavins Corporation, a competitor of Odessa Separator. The asserted patent covers a certain type of safety feature for downhole sand separators aimed at preventing catastrophic failures.

Seeking to recover lost profits exceeding $2,000,000, plus treble damages for willfulness and attorneys’ fees, the plaintiffs alleged that Odessa Separator infringed the asserted patent because their Vortex Sand Shield product contained this safety feature. After a four-day jury trial, the jury rejected the allegations, finding that Odessa Separator’s Vortex Sand Shield did not infringe the asserted patent.

Bert Frost, owner of Odessa Separator, commented: “Bell Nunnally put together a fantastic team that was able to cut through the distractions and get the jury to focus on what mattered. We couldn’t be happier with the result.”

The case, Arterbury, et al. v. Odessa Separator, Inc. (Case No. 5:16-CV-00183-RWS-RSP), was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division, with the Honorable Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III presiding.