Replies to post #205505 on InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[whizzeresq]

I would not get too excited over IDCC's Motion to Dismiss Count 12 of Samsung's Complaint. Each count is a separate claim brought by Samsung as to why it believes it has a cause of action against IDCC. A Motion to Dismiss is a legal challenge brought by a Defendant against a Plaintiff's Count on the theory that the Plaintiff's allegations in that Count in the Complaint, even if true, fail to present a proper claim under the law. In Count 12, Samsung is claiming that IDCC has wronged it because IDCC violated a California "unfair business practice" statute. In its Motion to Dismiss Count 12, IDCC is claiming that even if Samsung's allegations in the Complaint are true, Samsung is not entitled to any legal relief because it has failed to allege that Samsung lost money as a result of IDCC's conduct and that the California statute requires a plaintiff show that it has lost money as a result of the defendant's allegedly wrongful conduct. Even if IDCC wins on its Motion, at least 11 other counts will remain in Samsung's case. IDCC can later bring a motion for summary judgment to try to dismiss all or some other counts in the Complaint.

The difference between a Motion to Dismiss and a Motion for Summary Judgment is that for a Motion to Dismiss, the court must accept all of the allegations in a Complaint as true and measure those allegations to determine whether if true, a plaintiff is entitled to relief by a court. A motion for summary judgment is actually based on the evidence disclosed by discovery and on sworn statements provided by the parties. In that instance, a party basically asks the Court to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that the material facts in the case are not in dispute (so no need to wait for a full trial) and the plaintiff is not entitled to any relief from the court based on those facts.

An example of a Motion to Dismiss would be if someone sued you because you stepped in their shadow. You would file a Motion to Dismiss and basically say, ok, so even if I stepped in your shadow, there is nothing wrong with that under the law, so your complaint should be dismissed. A simple example of summary judgment would be a case where you were sued by a pedestrian who claimed you were driving a car in San Diego that struck him. If the plaintiff can prove those facts, he could recover against you, so you can't file a motion to dismiss. However, if you presented evidence that you were in Finland at the time time and not driving the car and the plaintiff couldn't produce any evidence that you were, in fact, driving the car that struck him, a court could dismiss it on summary judgment.