Summary Judgment Awarded to Analysis Group Client in Breach of Contract Litigation

August 3, 2023

Analysis Group was retained on behalf of LivaNova, the defendant in a breach of contract litigation brought by Todd J. Mortier, co-founder of the medical device company Caisson Interventional. Mortier alleged that LivaNova failed to honor its contractual obligations to pursue product development, clinical trials, and regulatory approvals for a transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) device, and as a result, did not achieve milestones in the development and approval process that would trigger certain payments to Caisson.  

An Analysis Group team – led by Managing Principal Pavel Darling, Principal Todd Schatzki, Principal Brian Ellman, and Manager Jessica Burley – supported affiliated experts Matthew Grennan and Martin C. Burke, who submitted expert reports and testified at deposition related to the opportunities and risks in the development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of the device, as well as the economic and strategic considerations associated with medical device development.

Following the filing of the expert reports and depositions, a judge in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota granted summary judgment in favor of LivaNova. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision.