Court Overturns Damage Award in ViaSat Lawsuit Against SSL, Orders New Trial on Damages

11 August 2014

Loral Space & Communications Inc. announced that the trial court on August 8, 2014 issued decisions on the post-trial motions filed in the breach of contract and patent infringement lawsuit brought by ViaSat, Inc. (ViaSat) against Loral and Loral's former subsidiary, Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SSL).

In its decisions, the court, finding that the jury's damages award resulted in a miscarriage of justice, vacated in full the $283 million jury verdict against SSL. The court ordered that a new jury trial be held on the amount of damages and has tentatively scheduled the trial to proceed in November 2014. The court deferred, until August 26, 2014, argument on ViaSat's motion seeking an injunction to prevent the manufacture and sale by SSL of additional satellites that infringe ViaSat's patents.

"We are pleased with the court's decision, as it is an important first step in rectifying the injustice resulting from the April 2014 trial," said Michael B. Targoff, Vice Chairman of Loral. "Not only do we believe that the jury's damages award was excessive, but we continue to believe that we have strong grounds for challenging the jury's liability findings on appeal."