News
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright Recuses Himself From Verizon Lawsuit
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright recused himself from a lawsuit where Verizon is targeting patent holder Traxcell Technologies over an unfulfilled attorney fee award. Citing communication records from 2016, Albright stepped down just weeks before a scheduled jury trial, emphasizing that he had no recollection of the past interactions.
Case Background & Details
The Dispute: Verizon sued Traxcell Technologies in March 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas under the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act.
The Core Issue: Verizon alleged the patent holding firm tried to dodge paying an attorney fee award exceeding $500,000 originating from prior legal clashes.
The Recusal: Judge Albright vacated all upcoming hearings and trial dates (initially set for May 26, 2026) due to discovery of 2016 engagement letters and emails.
The Judge's Stance: Albright explicitly noted he does not remember the brief conversations and stated the past contact did not affect any rulings, pulling out strictly "out of an abundance of caution."
Traxcell Wins IPR News
Traxcell Technologies has not secured recent legal wins in intellectual property rights (IPR) or patent news, instead facing major court defeats, dismissed lawsuits, and asset receiverships.
Recent Legal Setbacks
Verizon Receivership: The Texas Supreme Court declined to review an order requiring Traxcell to hand over its patents to a court-appointed receiver to satisfy nearly $490,000 in unpaid attorney fees owed to Verizon.
Dismissed Lawsuits: Judges have continuously ruled against Traxcell's infringement claims. For example, Bloomberg Law reported that Lyft and Grubhub successfully won dismissal bids against Traxcell patent suits regarding mobile navigation technology.
Past PTAB Status: While Traxcell occasionally defended against individual Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions in the past—such as a 2022 Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision denying institution on an isolated Google petition—the company's overall litigation campaign has largely collapsed due to invalidation rulings and fee sanctions.