The fallout from Qualcomm's recent legal setbacks continues: On Monday, the chipmaker announced the resignation of its top attorney, general counsel and senior vice president Lou Lupin. Senior VP and legal counsel Carol Lam was named Lupin's interim replacement while Qualcomm conducts an executive search for a new general counsel.
Qualcomm declined to pinpoint a specific reason behind Lupin's exit, but the move follows a week after the Bush administration upheld U.S. International Trade Commission's ban on importing mobile devices containing Qualcomm chips found to violate patents controlled by rival Broadcom. On the same day, San Diego federal Judge Rudi Brewster denounced Qualcomm's legal maneuvers in another dispute with Broadcom, accusing Qualcomm and its counsel of committing "gross litigation misconduct" by withholding crucial evidence and writing its behavior suggested "extremely sophisticated foul play."
Qualcomm returns to court this week in Santa Ana, California, where a federal judge will consider penalties for violating three Broadcom patents. A jury awarded Broadcom $19.6 million in damages in May; Broadcom is now petitioning the judge to impose another ban on the Qualcomm chips in the crossfire.
For more on Lupin's resignation:
- read this release
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Qualcomm rejects Broadcom settlement offer