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Pending Court Approval, Howard’s Appliance Will Soon Disappear Forever

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A Howard's Appliance store, partially covered by its liquidation plan

Howard’s Appliances, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, and we now know the path the company’s directors have chosen to take in this transition for the company. In addition to filing a comprehensive Voluntary Petition for Non-Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, along with a series of attachments containing, among other things, huge inventory lists, the Howard’s team also added a series of Motions requesting the court grant immediate “Hearings on Emergency Basis.”

What was I able to glean from literally hundreds of pages of document filings? Read on…

See more on the Howard’s Appliance bankruptcy filing…

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Verdict: Apple Hit With $634 Million in Damages in Masimo Lawsuit; Another Shoe May Drop

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At the end of last week, Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) received some good news in its years-long court battle with Apple Inc. over its alleged infringement of Masimo patents misappropriated for use in Apple Watch models. It has been virtually a nuclear war between the two combatants, taking place in Federal, California, and Delaware courts; at the US International Trade Commission; in the Federal Appeals Court; at the Patent Trial & Appeal Board; and with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Now, a California jury has found in Masimo’s favor in one of those cases and ordered Apple to pay it $634 million in damages. But is this the end of the matter?

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A Dramatic Finale: Judge Orders Lutron to Pay GeigTech *Double Damages,* Interest & Costs

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GeigTech, maker of J Geiger shades, and Lutron lawsuit ends
[Click to enlarge]

In what has been one of the longest-running patent infringement cases I have ever reported on, GeigTech East Bay LLC vs. Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. finally wrapped up last week in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York before the Honorable Judge Colleen McMahon who delivered a blistering Final Decision and Order full of fire and brimstone…for both parties. Know that as you read this report, you are reading about a case originally filed on June 12, 2018…that’s right, seven years ago!

Says Judge McMahon: “After two trials and many opinions over the past seven years, the Court assumed familiarity with the facts and major players involved in this case.” And you know what they say about familiarity – familiarity breeds contempt!

See the many surprising facts Judge McMahon’s Decision and Order reveals

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‘Legendary’ Judge Alsup Featured in Strata-gee May Go ‘Inactive’ in 2025

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Judge Alsup in his chambers

Featured in Sonos v. Google Patent Dispute

Law360, a legal newsletter, reported on Tuesday that U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup – a judge in the Northern District of California – has filed papers with the court notifying it that he will likely take “inactive status” sometime in 2025. Calling him a “larger-than-life jurist” who has presided over some of the most consequential cases in America, Law360 says Judge Alsup is “legendary” in the U.S. legal system. I concur…

Judge Alsup was featured in one of Strata-gee’s most popular stories ever written on patent battles, this one between Sonos and Google. There was a remarkable twist at the end of this story based on real-world detective work by Judge Alsup.

See more on the potential exit of one of America’s most renowned judges

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Masimo Updates SEC on Its Progress Recovering From Recent Cyberattack

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Masimo website home page
Part of the new Masimo website [Click to enlarge]

In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) updated regulators on its progress in recovering from a recent cyberattack that took its major systems offline for several days and disrupted manufacturing. The company also notified the SEC that as part of its participation in certain investment conferences coming up over the next few weeks, it intends to reiterate its updated outlook for expected financial performance over the remainder of fiscal 2025, as originally announced on May 6, 2025.

See more on the latest SEC filing by Masimo…

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Harman Hits Voxx Int’l & Klipsch Group with Major 13-Count Lawsuit

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Cover page of Harman v. Voxx and Klipsch

Something tells me these companies – Harman International Industries, Inc. and Voxx International Corp/Klipsch Group, Inc. aren’t going to be friends…or even friendly. I have learned that Harman has filed a significant 13-count patent infringement lawsuit against Voxx/Klipsch for copying its patented JBL PartyBox line in the creation of the Klipsch Gig XXL party speaker line.

Harman says Voxx/Klipsch continued its allegedly unlawful actions even after being notified of the infringement by Harman back in the fall of 2023.

Learn all about Harman v. Voxx et al…

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Masimo Tells SEC It Was the Victim of a Cyberattack

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I recently reported that I had discovered that the primary website for Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) – Masimo.com – was down…and down for a few days. This is very unusual for a public company and the message displayed on the inactive site sounded suspiciously untrue – saying the site was undergoing “maintenance.” Now we’ve learned from a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the company had suffered an intrusion and “unauthorized activity” on its systems.

See more on this cyber incident on Masimo.com

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Investigation Launched into Alleged Securities Fraud Claims Against Sonos

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Blowup of Sonos Era 300

Pomerantz Law has announced it is launching an investigation of Sonos, Inc (Nasdaq: SONO) on behalf of investors. The firm says that this action is being taken to investigate claims surrounding the company’s handling of its 2024 app disaster and whether certain Sonos officers and/or directors “have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.”

See more on this investigation of Sonos

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After Year-and-a-Half Fight, All Claims are Dismissed in Snap One vs AVA

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Graphic showing AVA, Josh.ai, and Snap One

Snap One vs Josh.ai Lawsuit Continues

Strata-gee has learned that the U.S. District Court in the District of Utah has granted a Joint Motion to Dismiss all claims between Snap One, LLC (now part of Resideo) and AVA, Inc. The motion is the result of a negotiated settlement between the parties. This solves one-half of a lawsuit originally filed in August 2023 between Snap One, LLC (plaintiff) versus AVA, Inc. (defendant), and Josh.ai, Inc. (defendant).

Josh.ai is not part of this settlement so that case carries on.

Learn more about the settlement between Snap One and AVA

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SEC is Investigating RTW Invest. & Its Role in Masimo Proxy ‘Empty Voting’ Scheme

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Image from RTW website, RTW is connected to Joe Kiani and the Masimo proxy war
RTW website

In a new report last week, we learned that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an investigation into RTW Investments over its role in an “empty voting” scheme related to the Masimo Corp. proxy battle which concluded in September at the Masimo Annual Stockholders Meeting. Masimo, now under new board management, has accused former CEO Joe Kiani and RTW of colluding in an empty voting scheme to try and manipulate a board election in their favor and deprive shareholders of their voting rights.

See more on this news about the SEC, Masimo, Joe Kiani, and RTW

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