ALD Social, LLC v. Apple, Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 ALD SOCIAL, LLC, Case No. 23-cv-02695-JSC
Plaintiff,
ORDER RE: DEFENDANT’S MOTION
v. FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND
SANCTIONS
APPLE, INC., Re: Dkt. Nos. 60, 62, 64, 65 Defendant.
12 ALD Social sued Apple for patent infringement. (Dkt. No. 51.) On October 3, 2023, ALD Social voluntarily dismissed its suit with prejudice. (Dkt. No. 59.) Before this Court is Apple’s motion for attorneys’ fees and sanctions. (Dkt. No. 62.) Having carefully considered the briefing, and with the benefit of oral argument on November 30, 2023, the Court DENIES the motion. While the Court ultimately agreed with Apple that the case lacked merit, Apple fails to show by a preponderance of the evidence ALD Social’s conduct in this case warrants an exceptional case finding. BACKGROUND ALD Social originally sued Apple for infringement of two patents directed to systems to detect crowd safety risks and alert emergency personnel…