Shares tumble as cases falter
Rambus shares
have fallen after its litigation trail has started to dry up thanks to antics in
another case.
A California judge on Monday halted the patent infringement
cases Hynix, Micron Technology, Nanya and Samsung Electronics
indefinitely. Judge Ronald Whyte of the US District Court for the Northern
District of California said he wanted to hear the outcome of appeals by Micron
before he allowed the case to continue.
Rambus stuffed up a case against
Micron by destroying evidence and had its case thrown out. It is appealing that
decision, and Whyte wants to hear the outcome of that appeal. Rambus is
appealing that the Delaware ruling from Judge Sue L. Robinson conflicted with an
earlier ruling by Judge Whyte saying that Rambus had not destroyed
evidence.
If the appeal is upheld then Whyte will also have to say that
Rambus destroyed evidence and will have to chuck the case out
too. Shareholders went into a panic over the ruling and have been trying to
sell their shares. The price dropped by 20 percent.