Ward, Smith & Hill Helps VirnetX Win $302 Million Texas Patent Verdict

TYLER, Texas, Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second time this year, firm founder Johnny Ward of Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has helped a client win a multimillion-dollar patent infringement verdict against technology giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

The $302 million verdict handed down Sept. 30 in favor of VirnetX Holding Corp. follows another verdict from earlier this year in which Mr. Ward helped the same client win a $625 million verdict against Apple. That award was later vacated and the trial court split the case into two separate trials, the first of which was decided Friday in VirnetX Inc., et al. v. Apple Inc., No. 6:10-CV-417.

The verdict was Ward, Smith & Hill's second multi-million dollar win over Apple in less than two weeks. Named partner Wesley Hill helped secure a $22 million jury award against Apple on Sept. 14 for Cellular Communications Equipment, LLC.

The recent verdict for VirnetX followed one week of trial before the Hon. Robert W. Schroeder III in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler. The jury based the award on the amount of royalties Apple owes VirnetX for infringing four of the company's internet security patents.

"The evidence in this case clearly showed that Apple wrongly infringed legal patents owned by VirnetX in order to help sell millions of iPhones and other devices," says Mr. Ward. "The verdict represents the amount that the jury believes VirnetX should have been paid in royalties for Apple's use of the company's technology."

In addition to Mr. Ward, VirnetX was represented by attorneys from Dallas' Caldwell Cassady & Curry and Tyler's Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth, P.C.

Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has tried more than 350 cases to verdict, earning a national reputation in high-stakes claims involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, oil and gas matters, bad faith insurance claims, and serious personal injury claims. The firm frequently assists lawyers nationwide in complex cases before Texas juries. To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.wsfirm.com.

For more information, contact Bruce Vincent at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].

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SOURCE Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC