The Pentair Defendants' Response Brief

Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 69-2 Filed: 12/15/2014 Pg: 1 of 34 No. 14-1746 ______________________ UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT ______________________ SD3, LLC and SawStop, LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BLACK & DECKER (U.S.), INC., et al., Defendants-Appellees. ______________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Case No. 14-cv-00191-CMH-IDD The Honorable Claude M. Hilton, United States District Judge ______________________ THE PENTAIR DEFENDANTS’ RESPONSE BRIEF ______________________ Michael J. Lockerby Lauren A. Champaign Alexander J. Kramer FOLEY & LARDNER LLP Washington Harbour 3000 K Street, N.W., Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20007-5143 Tel: (202) 672-5300 Fax: (202) 672-5399 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Counsel for Defendants-Appellees Pentair, Inc. and Pentair Water Group, Inc. 4849-3631-9521.8 Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 2169-2 Filed: Filed: 08/06/2014 12/15/2014 Pg: Pg: 1 of2 of4 34 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT DiSCLOSURE OF CORPORATE AFFILIATIONS AND OTHER INTERESTS Disclosures must be filed on behalf of jj parties to a civil, agency, bankruptcy or mandamus case, except that a disclosure statement is not required from the United States, from an indigent party, or from a state or local government in a pro se case. In mandamus cases arising from a civil or bankruptcy action, all parties to the action in the district court are considered parties to the mandanuis case. Corporate defendants in a criminal or post-conviction case and corporate amici curiae are required to file disclosure statements. If counsel is not a registered ECF filer and does not intend to file documents other than the required disclosure statement, counsel may file the disclosure statement in paper rather than electronic form. Counsel has a continuing duty to update this information. No. 14-1746 Caption: SD3, LLC and SawStop, LLC v. Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc., et al. Pursuant to FRAP 26.1 and Local Rule 26.1, Pentair, Inc. (name of party arnicus) who is appellee , makes the following disclosure: (appellant/appellee/petitioner/respondent/amicus/intervenor) I. Is party/amicus a publicly held corporation or other publicly held entity? c:i YES NO Does party amicus have any parent corporations? YES DNO if yes, identify all parent corporations, including grandparent and great-grandparent corporations: Pentair, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pentair Ltd. Is 10% or more of the stock of a party amicus owned by a publicly held coi oration or other publicly held entity? / YESNO If yes, identify all such owners: Pentair Ltd. Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 2169-2 Filed: Filed: 08/06/2014 12/15/2014 Pg: Pg: 2 of3 of4 34 Is there any other publicly held corporation or other publicly held entity that has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the litigation (Local Rule 26.1(b))? YESENO If yes, identify entity and nature of interest: is party a trade association? (amici curiae do not complete this question) YES ENO If yes, identify any publicly held member whose stock or equity value could be affected substantially by the outcome of the proceeding or whose claims the trade association is pursuing in a representative capacity, or state that there is no such member: Does this case arise out of a bankruptcy proceeding? YES ENO if yes, identify any trustee and the members of any creditors’ committee: Signature: j Date: Counsel for: Pentairj V CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ************************** I certify that on August 6, 2014 the foregoing document was served on all parties or their counsel of record through the CM ECF system if they are registered users or, if they are not, by serving a true and correct copy at the addresses listed below: see attached list 1/ ‘sg ture) ( ate) Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 2269-2 Filed: Filed: 08/06/2014 12/15/2014 Pg: Pg: 1 of4 of4 34 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT DISCLOSURE OF CORPORATE AFFILIATIONS AND OTHER INTERESTS Disclosures must be filed on behalf of J! parties to a civil, agency, bankruptcy or mandamus case, except that a disclosure statement is not required from the United States, from an indigent party, or from a state or local government in a pro se case. In mandamus cases arising from a civil or bankruptcy action, all parties to the action in the district court are considered parties to the mandamus case. Corporate defendants in a criminal or post-conviction case and corporate amici curiae are required to file disclosure statements. If counsel is not a registered ECF filer and does not intend to file documents other than the required disclosure statement, counsel may file the disclosure statement in paper rather than electronic form. Counsel has a continuing duty to update this information. No. 14-1746 Caption: SD3, LLC and SawStop, LLC v. Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc., et al. Pursuant to FRAP 26.1 and Local Rule 26.1, Pentair Water Group, Inc. (name of party/am icus) who is appellee , makes the following disclosure: (appellant/appellee/petitioner/respondent/amicus intervenor) 1. Is party amicus a publicly held corporation or other publicly held entity? YES NO 2. Does party amicus have any parent corporations? YES NO If yes, identify all parent corporations, including grandparent and great-grandparent corporations: Pentair Water Group, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pentair Ltd. Is 10% or more of the stock of a party amicus owned by a publicly held cor oration or other publicly held entity? / YESNO If yes, identify all such owners: Pentair Ltd. 1028 2013 SCC _____ Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 2269-2 Filed: Filed: 08/06/2014 12/15/2014 Pg: Pg: 2 of5 of4 34 Is there any other publicly held corporation or other publicly held entity that has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the litigation (Local Rule 26.1(b))? YESNO If yes, identify entity and nature of interest: Is party a trade association? (amici curiae do not complete this question) c:i YES NO If yes, identify any publicly held member whose stock or equity value could be affected substantially by the outcome of the proceeding or whose claims the trade association is pursuing in a representative capacity, or state that there is no such member: Does this case arise out of a bankruptcy proceeding? YES EZINO If yes, identify any trustee and the members of any creditors’ committee: Signature: Date: d y Counsel for: Pentair Wa Mf.1II. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ************************** I certify that on August 6, 2014 the foregoing document was served on all parties or their counsel of record through the CM ECF system if they are registered users or, if they are not, by serving a true and correct copy at the addresses listed below: see attached list / ‘- si aturc (date) Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 69-2 Filed: 12/15/2014 Pg: 6 of 34 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Jurisdictional Statement ................................................................................... 1 II. Statement of the Case ...................................................................................... 2 III. Standard of Review .......................................................................................... 6 IV. Statement of Issues for Review ....................................................................... 7 V. Summary of Argument .................................................................................... 7 VI. Argument ......................................................................................................... 8 A. The Amended Complaint Contains No Factual Allegations that PWG “Conspired” with Any of the Other Defendants. ........................ 8 B. SawStop’s Factual Allegations Are Insufficient to Pierce the Corporate Veil or Otherwise State a Claim Against Pentair. ................ 9 C. It Would Be Improper to Pierce the Corporate Veil Between the Pentair Defendants and Their Former Subsidiaries. ........................... 13 D. SawStop’s Amended Complaint Contains Insufficient Factual Allegations Implicating the Pentair Defendants. ................................ 16 VII. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 21 -i- 4849-3631-9521.8 Appeal: 14-1746 Doc: 69-2 Filed: 12/15/2014 Pg: 7 of 34 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) Cases Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. v. Openet Telecom, Inc., No. 1:10CV910 2014 WL 5430956, at *5 (E.D.Va. Oct. 24, 2014) ................... 1 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) .............................................................................................. 6 Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) ........................................................................................ 6, 21 Consolidated Metal Prod. v. American Petroleum Inst., 846 F.2d 284 (5th Cir. 1988) .............................................................................. 19 DeWitt Truck Brokers, Inc. v. W. Ray Flemming Fruit Co., 540 F.2d 681 (4th Cir. 1976) .............................................................................. 13 Giarratano v. Johnson, 521 F.3d 298 (4th Cir. 2008) ................................................................................ 6 Informatics Applications Group, Inc. v. Shkolnikov, 836 F. Supp. 2d 400 (E.D. Va. 2011) ................................................................. 15 Jones v. Bank of Am. Corp., No. 4:09cv162, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142918 (E.D. Va. Aug. 24, 2010) ..................................................................................................................

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