Oilfield Firm’s Owners Not Liable in $8.9 Million Patent Defeat

A Schlumberger NV unit failed to convince a Texas federal judge to hold the owners of the bankrupt oilfield technology company liable for an $8.9 million jury verdict a patent dispute.

Cameron International Corp. never named Nitro Fluids LLC’s owners Bobby Lee Koricanek and Jackie Ray Simpson as defendants in its patent case, according to an order filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Judge Keith Ellison said the jury trial only focused on Nitro’s liability.

“Herein lies the problem—had Cameron sued Koricanek from the beginning, the factual inquiry at trial could have included ...