Introduction

Grant is a shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Litigation Groups. His practice focuses on litigating patent and trade secret matters in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Grant is a skilled litigator with extensive experience in all aspects of civil litigation, including case preparation, discovery, motion practice, mediations, arbitrations, and bench and jury trials. In addition to his extensive trial court practice, Grant has successfully argued before the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Grant works on cases involving a wide variety of industries and technologies, including agricultural, mechanical, computer software, medical, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, and electronics.

Education

• Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2003, cum laude
• University of Wisconsin, B.A., Economics and History, 2000

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 2003
• U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 2003
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 2008
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, 2010
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 2004
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, 2009

Practice Areas

• Litigation
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Antitrust and Trade Regulation
• Non-Competes & Trade Secrets
• Advertising, Marketing & Trademark Law

Representative Experience

Intellectual Property Litigation:

• Grant was a member of the victorious trial team in a patent case venued in the Eastern District of Texas. The opponent sought $65 million in damages from the client, along with enhanced damages and attorney’s fees. In total, the client could have lost over $200 million in the lawsuit. Grant’s trial team convinced the jury to reject the exorbitant amount sought by the opponent. The verdict was for significantly less than the opponent’s best offer in settlement negotiations.
• Grant and his team brought a patent infringement lawsuit in the District of Minnesota against a foreign competitor and its United States distributor for infringement of a patent covering an agricultural heating device. Grant and his team successfully defended against an attempt to move the case to the distributor’s home state and forced the competitor and distributor to cease selling the accused product.
• Grant and his team defended co-owners of a patent relating to reactors for ethanol plants against a declaratory judgment action brought by a competitor in the District of Idaho. The competitor sought to invalidate the clients’ patent. Grant and his team successfully moved the Court to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction.
• Grant and his team represented a computer software company and its employee in a trade secret misappropriation case in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. A competitor sued the client for trade secret misappropriation after its former consultant joined the client, contending that the consultant shared confidential information with the client. Grant and his team positioned the case for transfer to the District of Minnesota by successfully arguing that the Florida court lacked personal jurisdiction over the employee. Meanwhile, Grant worked with the client to gather documents that proved that no misappropriation had occurred. Faced with this evidence and the likelihood that the litigation would move to Minnesota, the competitor dropped the lawsuit.
• Grant served as lead defense counsel in a copyright infringement case in the District of Minnesota. He successfully moved the Court to dismiss the case at the pleading stage.

• Grant served as lead trial counsel in a consumer fraud case brought by the client against a specialty auto mechanic shop. During the bench trial, Grant successfully proved that the shop overcharged the client by 50% for performance upgrades on the client’s show car. The Court found the shop liable and awarded Grant’s client compensatory damages, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages.
• Grant served as lead defense counsel for a client who was accused of defrauding a purchaser in a real estate transaction. During the bench trial, Grant convinced the Court that the client had not been aware of any defects with the real estate when she sold the property. The Court found for Grant’s client and denied the purchaser any damages.
• Grant and his team defended a real estate developer against breach of contract claims brought by a home builder. During the bench trial, Grant and his team successfully proved that the client had not breached any contract with the home builder. As a result, the Court found that the client was not liable.
• Grant and his team defended a public company in two class action lawsuits brought by its shareholders. The shareholders alleged that the company’s proposed merger would undervalue the company’s stock. The Court dismissed both suits at the initial pleading stage.

• Grant and his team petitioned the Minnesota Court of Appeals for a writ of certiorari to review a city council’s decision to revoke the client’s food license. Grant successfully argued that the council had violated the client’s due process rights by failing to give the client adequate notice of the grounds for the council’s revocation. The Court agreed and reversed the city council’s decision. Ponce v. City of St. Paul, 2007 WL 2769677 (Minn. Ct. App. 2007).

Selected Publications & Presentations

• “The Inequitable Conduct Defense in Patent Infringement Cases: After Therasense,” FredALERT: Intellectual Property, July 2011
• Presenter, “Patents v. Trade Secrets – Which is Right for Your Company's Protection?,” Fredrikson & Byron Non-Competes & Trade Secrets Seminar, March 3, 2011
• “The Inequitable Conduct Defense in Patent Infringement Cases: Before Therasense,” FredALERT: Intellectual Property, October 2010
• Speaker, “Covering Your Assets in the Age of Employee Mobility – Steps Employers Can Take To Keep Trade Secrets a Secret,” Fredrikson & Byron Trade Secrets Seminar, February 17, 2010

Professional Activities

• MSBA Professionalism Committee – Committee Member
• American Bar Association (ABA) – Member of Antitrust and Intellectual Property Sections
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) - Member
• Federal Bar Association (FBA) – Member of Antitrust and Intellectual Property Sections
• Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) – Member of Antitrust and Civil Litigation Sections

Honors & Distinctions

• Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honors Society, University of Wisconsin

Community Involvement

• Minnesota Sinfonia - Board Member and Former Chairman of the Board
• Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) – Volunteer at Hennepin County Civil Forms Workshop