Court reverses $482 million case against JNJ's Cordis

Cordis Corp, a Johnson and Johnson subsidiary, did not infringe upon a stent patent owned by a radiologist, an appeals court said on Thursday, reversing a ruling by a lower court which had ordered Cordis to pay $482 million.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a ruling from a Texas jury, which had found Cordis guilty of infringement and ordered the payment, plus interest.

The appeals court ruled that Cordis had not infringed.

A lawyer for the radiologist, Bruce Saffran, was not immediately available.

The case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas was No. 07-CV-0451. The case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is Bruce Saffran v. Johnson & Johnson and Cordis Corp., No. 2012-1043.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)