The tab represents nearly three years of work by BrainLAB's lawyers: Renner, Otto, Boisselle & Sklar, seconded by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe .

The financial slap followed a February sanctions order. "The [McDermott] lawyers artfully avoided the limitations of the patent claims and created an illusion of infringement. They did so with full awareness that their case was without merit," Matsch opined then.

Law.com:

Lawyers for McDermott argued that the court had an obligation to stop any litigation conduct that stepped over the line, according to the ruling. McDermott's lawyers also argued that the judge could have granted BrainLAB's summary judgment motion for dismissal if the case really didn't hold any water.

Medtronic was also hit with a $10 million sanction in a patent case in Massachusetts earlier this year for disregarding claims construction. The company was using a different law firm for that case, New York's Dewey & LeBeouf.

Matsch threw out the jury's September 2005 verdict, with included a $52 million infringement award for four patents. Judge Matsch's dismissal was upheld on appeal.

No expense is being spared appealing the sanctions slap, with what Michael Davis, a law professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, termed "a little posturing, a little machismo." McDermott has opted for Sidley Austin managing partner Carter Phillips, a former assistant solicitor general, who has argued 59 cases before the Supreme Court, fourth-most nationwide. Medtronic has hired former solicitor general Seth Waxman, who has argued 52 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, fifth-most among active lawyers. The first-, second-, and third-most active Supreme Court arguers were "really, really busy, sorry, gotta' go."