Case: 20-1493 Document: 64 Page: 1 Filed: 03/01/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
LAKSHMI ARUNACHALAM,
Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORPORATION, SAP AMERICA, INC., JPMORGAN
CHASE & CO.,
Defendants-Appellees
DOES 1-100,
Defendant
______________________
2020-1493
______________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
District of Delaware in No. 1:16-cv-00281-RGA, Judge
Richard G. Andrews.
______________________
Decided: March 1, 2021
______________________
LAKSHMI ARUNACHALAM, Menlo Park, CA, pro se.
MARK J. ABATE, Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, NY,
for defendant-appellee International Business Machines
Corporation. Also represented by CALVIN E. WINGFIELD,
JR.; KEVIN J. CULLIGAN, JOHN P. HANISH, Maynard, Cooper
& Gale, PC, New York, NY.
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2 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
THARAN GREGORY LANIER, Jones Day, Palo Alto, CA, for
defendant-appellee SAP America, Inc. Also represented by
JOSEPH BEAUCHAMP, Houston, TX.
DOUGLAS R. NEMEC, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &
Flom LLP, New York, NY, for defendant-appellee JPMor-
gan Chase & Co. Also represented by EDWARD TULIN.
______________________
Before LOURIE, WALLACH, and CHEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Dr. Lakshmi Arunachalam, appeals from
three decisions of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Delaware (“District Court”): two granting-in-part and
denying-in-part attorneys’ fees to Appellees, SAP America,
Inc. (“SAP”), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JPMorgan”), and In-
ternational Business Machines Corp. (“IBM”), see Aru-
nachalam v. Int’l Bus. Machines Corp. (Arunachalam I),
No. CV 16-281-RGA, 2019 WL 1388625, at *2 (D. Del.
Mar. 27, 2019) (Memorandum); C.A. 11 (Order); Arunacha-
lam v. Int’l Bus. Machines Corp. (Arunachalam II), No. CV
16-281-RGA, 2019 WL 5896544, at *3 (D. Del. Nov. 12,
2019) (Memorandum); C.A. 3–4 (Order); and one denying
two of Dr. Arunachalam’s additional motions, C.A. 1–2 (Or-
der Denying Motions to ‘Enforce the Mandated Prohibition’
and to Vacate Its ‘Unconstitutional Order’). 1 The District
Court explained that Dr. Arunachalam’s “abusive” litiga-
tion conduct warranted monetary sanctions, Arunachalam
I, 2019 WL 1388625, at *2; see Arunachalam II, 2019 WL
5896544, at *1, and that her two later-filed motions were
1 “A.A.” refers to the appendix attached to Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s opening brief, and “C.A.” refers to the corrected
appendix attached to Appellees’ response brief.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 3
baseless and untimely, C.A. 2. We have jurisdiction pursu-
ant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1). We affirm.
BACKGROUND
The relevant facts are numerous and colorful. In
April 2016, Dr. Arunachalam filed suit in the District
Court against IBM and “Does 1-100,” alleging infringement
of U.S. Patent No. 7,340,506 (“the ’506 patent”) and viola-
tions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organiza-
tions Act (“the RICO Act”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962, et. seq.
C.A. 46; see C.A. 45–68 (Original Complaint). 2 The case
was assigned to Judge Richard G. Andrews. C.A. 22; see
C.A. 19–44 (Civil Docket).
In May 2016, Dr. Arunachalam filed an amended com-
plaint, adding SAP, JPMorgan, and Judge Andrews as de-
fendants. C.A. 83; see C.A. 83–100 (Amended Complaint).
In the Amended Complaint, Dr. Arunachalam repeated her
allegation of infringement of the ’506 patent by IBM
(Count I), C.A. 93, and further alleged that all the defend-
ants had engaged in “[c]ivil [r]acketeering,” (Count II),
C.A. 96; violated the RICO statute (Count III), C.A. 98, and
conspired “to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity,”
(Count IV), C.A. 99 (capitalization normalized); see C.A. 96
(accusing IBM, SAP, JPMorgan, and Judge Andrews of
“RICO [p]redicate [a]cts”); 18 U.S.C § 1961(1) (listing pred-
icate “racketeering activit[ies]” under the RICO Act, in-
cluding “any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping,
gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in
2 The RICO Act provides, in relevant part, that “[i]t
shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of rack-
eteering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt
to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest
in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the
activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.”
18 U.S.C. § 1962(b).
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4 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or
listed chemical”).
Appellees moved to dismiss Counts II–IV of the
Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Pro-
cedure (“FRCP”) 12(b)(6). C.A. 22; see C.A. 110 (SAP argu-
ing that Dr. Arunachalam’s patent infringement
allegations did not qualify as “predicate acts” under the
RICO Act), 112 (IBM contending the same and asking the
District Court “to exercise its inherent power and enter an
appropriate sanction against [Dr. Arunachalam] for filing
spurious RICO claims”). Dr. Arunachalam opposed Appel-
lees’ motion to dismiss, C.A. 27, and Appellees filed reply
briefs, C.A. 27–28. Dr. Arunachalam also filed a motion to
recuse Judge Andrews from the case, C.A. 26, and a motion
for entry of default judgment against Judge Andrews,
C.A. 27. 3
The Government filed a Statement of Interest on behalf
of Judge Andrews, C.A. 115, which the District Court “con-
strued as a motion to dismiss” the claims against
Judge Andrews, C.A. 25–26; see C.A. 115 (Statement of In-
terest) (requesting that the District Court “dismiss with
prejudice” the claims against Judge Andrews). At
Judge Andrews’s request, the District Court referred rul-
ing on the Government’s Statement of Interest and motion
to dismiss to Chief Judge Leonard P. Stark. C.A. 28, 116.
Dr. Arunachalam then moved to recuse Chief Judge Stark.
C.A. 28.
In a September 2016 order, Chief Judge Stark denied
Dr. Arunachalam’s motion to recuse him. C.A. 116; see
C.A. 116–120 (September 2016 Order). Chief Judge Stark
also dismissed the claims against Judge Andrews and dis-
missed him as a defendant. C.A. 119–20; C.A. 119
3 The Clerk of the District Court denied Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s motion for entry of default judgment. C.A. 27.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 5
(explaining that “[n]ot only are the allegations raised
against Judge Andrews conclusory, they also speak to ac-
tions taken by him in performance of his judicial duties,”
and thus “seek[] relief barred by the well-established doc-
trine of judicial immunity”). In February 2017, Judge An-
drews denied Dr. Arunachalam’s motion to recuse him.
C.A. 30–31.
In March 2017, the District Court granted Appellees’
motion to dismiss Counts II–IV of the Amended Complaint,
C.A. 122 (Order Dismissing Counts II–IV), explaining that
because “[p]atent infringement is not a crime,” it is “not on
the extensive list of crimes that can be a racketeering
[predicate] act,” C.A. 121 (Memorandum Regarding Mo-
tions to Dismiss) (citing 18 U.S.C § 1961(1)). Though
Dr. Arunachalam had alleged “a laundry list of federal
crimes,” the District Court found that her “[A]mended
[C]omplaint makes no plausible factual allegations to sup-
port any of them.” C.A. 121. 4 The District Court also
granted Dr. Arunachalam “leave to file a motion to amend
complying with [the District Court’s Local Rule] 15.1,” and
dismissed SAP and IBM’s requests for sanctions “without
prejudice to later renewal.” C.A. 122.
4 Despite the District Court’s dismissal of Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s RICO claims against IBM, SAP, and JPMor-
gan, Dr. Arunachalam reasserted these claims in a later
action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Dis-
trict of California. See Arunachalam v. Apple, Inc. (Aru-
nachalam N.D. Cal.), No. 5:18-CV-01250-EJD, 2018 WL
5023378, at *3–4, *4 n.2 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 16, 2018), aff’d, 806
F. App’x 977 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (dismissing Dr. Arunacha-
lam’s “confusing” and “disorganized” claims of, inter alia,
“RICO violations” against IBM, SAP, and JPMorgan, as
well as ten other defendants, and noting that the claims
were “identical to the RICO claims brought against IBM,
SAP, and JPMorgan . . . in the District of Delaware”).
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6 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
Dr. Arunachalam next filed a motion to vacate the Dis-
trict Court’s dismissal of Counts II–IV of the Amended
Complaint, and another motion to recuse Judge Andrews.
C.A. 31. 5 Dr. Arunachalam then filed a motion for leave to
amend her pleadings, C.A. 31–32, which the District Court
denied in January 2018, explaining that Dr. Arunacha-
lam’s 102-page proposed second amended complaint vio-
lated the District Court’s Local Rule 15.1, C.A. 124–25. As
Dr. Arunachalam had been “explicitly told to comply with
the rule,” the District Court found that her failure to do so
was “willful and in bad faith.” C.A. 124. The District Court
also prohibited “[a]ny further attempt to amend . . . with-
out leave of court,” and stated that “[t]he case will proceed”
as to the sole remaining claim in the Amended Complaint,
Count I, alleging infringement of claims 20 and 21 of the
’506 patent. C.A. 124. 6
Meanwhile, in December 2017, the U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board (“PTAB”)
issued a Final Written Decision (“the PTAB Decision”) find-
ing that “claims 20 and 21 of the ’506 Patent are unpatent-
able” and denying Dr. Arunachalam’s motion to amend to
add proposed new claims 22–49. SAP Am., Inc. v. Aru-
nachalam, No. CBM2016-00081, 2017 WL 6551158, at *23
(P.T.A.B. Dec. 21, 2017). 7 After the period for an appeal of
5 In June 2017, Dr. Arunachalam filed a third mo-
tion to recuse Judge Andrews, while her second motion was
still pending. C.A. 32.
6 The District Court also denied Dr. Arunachalam’s
motion to vacate its order dismissing Counts II–IV of the
Amended Complaint, as well as Dr. Arunachalam’s second
and third motions to recuse Judge Andrews. C.A. 32.
7 Previously, in an inter partes reexamination, the
Patent Examiner rejected claims 1–19 of the ’506 patent,
which the PTAB affirmed. Microsoft Corp. v. WebXchange,
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 7
the PTAB Decision had expired without an appeal by
Dr. Arunachalam, IBM moved to dismiss Count I of the
Amended Complaint. C.A. 126. IBM argued that because
Dr. Arunachalam “has not timely appealed from the
PTAB’s [D]ecision,” the PTAB would “issue a certificate of
cancellation of claims 20 and 21 of the ’506 patent—the
only remaining claims in the patent-in-suit,” and thus “[a]
dismissal with prejudice is . . . appropriate.” C.A. 126.
Dr. Arunachalam opposed dismissal of Count I, arguing
that “[t]here [was] no need for [her] to appeal the PTAB’s
ultra vires unconstitutional and hence void decision ‘inval-
idating’ the ’506 patent, because the PTAB Judges” lacked
“jurisdiction and immunity.” C.A. 127; see C.A. 127
(Dr. Arunachalam arguing that “the lawless misconduct
and Constitutional public breach and fraud by the PTAB
and the Federal Circuit . . . voids their rulings and cause[s]
them to lose their jurisdiction” and that we had “refused to
uphold” our own precedent “in a blatant civil rights dis-
crimination against [her]”).
In May 2018, the District Court granted IBM’s motion
to dismiss Count I with prejudice, concluding that the
PTAB Decision “mean[s] there are no valid claims in the
’506 patent to assert.” C.A. 129–30; see C.A. 129–31 (Dis-
missal Order). 8 Dr. Arunachalam then filed a motion for
Inc., No. 2013-008997, 2014 WL 2968085, at *23 (P.T.A.B.
June 27, 2014).
8 The District Court also dismissed Dr. Arunacha-
lam’s motion for leave to file a sur-reply to IBM’s motion to
dismiss, as well as a motion “for this court to give a state-
ment of decision on whether contract law applies to pa-
tents,” C.A. 34 (capitalization normalized), which the
District Court construed as “essentially a request that [the
court] find the PTAB system allowing for the invalidation
of issued patents to be unconstitutional,” C.A. 130. The
District Court found “no basis for declaring the [Covered
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8 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
reconsideration, styled as a “Motion to Alter or Amend a
Judgment Pursuant to FRCP . . . 59(e), and Motion for Re-
lief From a Judgment or Order Pursuant to
[FRCPs] 60(b)(2), 60(b)(3), 60(b)(4), 60(b)(5), 60(b)(6),
60(d)(1) and 60(d)(3).” C.A. 34. 9 Appellees opposed
Dr. Arunachalam’s motion for reconsideration, C.A. 34,
and SAP and IBM again sought sanctions, C.A. 132–33
(SAP “renew[ing] its request for sanctions,” as “[n]otwith-
standing th[e] [District] Court’s dismissal of [Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s] RICO claims against SAP, [she] re-asserted
her RICO cause of action against SAP in a subsequent law-
suit in N.D. California” and “is now seeking reconsidera-
tion of the [District] Court’s dismissal of [her] RICO causes
of action for the second time” (emphasis omitted)), 134
(IBM arguing that Dr. Arunachalam’s motion for reconsid-
eration “is the latest in a long line of frivolous motions and
pleadings in an action that can only be characterized as
vexatious” and renewing its request for sanctions).
In June 2018, the District Court denied Dr. Arunacha-
lam’s motion for reconsideration on all grounds. C.A. 138–
39; see C.A. 137–39 (Order Denying Reconsideration). The
District Court found that none of Dr. Arunachalam’s cited
“points and authorities” qualified “as a possible basis for
reconsideration” under FRCP 59(e). C.A. 138 (citing Laz-
aridis v. Wehmer, 591 F.3d 666, 669 (3d Cir. 2010) (“A
proper [FRCP] 59(e) motion therefore must rely on one of
three grounds: (1) an intervening change in controlling law;
(2) the availability of new evidence; or (3) the need to cor-
rect clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice.”)). The
District Court also found that Dr. Arunachalam’s “argu-
ments citing various subsections of [FRCP] 60” were
Business Method] procedure to be unconstitutional.”
C.A. 131.
9 Dr. Arunachalam’s motion for reconsideration is
not in the record. See generally A.A.; C.A.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 9
similarly meritless. C.A. 138; see, e.g., C.A. 138 (explaining
that Dr. Arunachalam sought “relief under [FRCP] 60(b)(3)
claiming fraud, but she does not allege any fraud in this
case”). 10 The District Court then stated that though “SAP
10 In July 2018, Dr. Arunachalam appealed virtually
all of the District Court’s orders to the Federal Circuit.
C.A. 35. In January 2019, we affirmed “the [D]istrict
[C]ourt’s dismissal of the patent infringement claim
against IBM, dismissal of all RICO claims against all de-
fendants, denial of the motion for leave to file a second
amended complaint, denials of motions to recuse, and all
other district court rulings challenged by Dr. Arunachalam
in this appeal.” Arunachalam v. Int’l Bus. Machines Corp.
(Arunachalam III), 759 F. App’x 927, 934 (Fed. Cir. 2019),
cert. denied, 140 S. Ct. 249 (2019), reh’g denied, 140 S. Ct.
578 (2019). We explained that the District Court “correctly
dismissed the RICO claims for failure to state a claim” be-
cause “patent infringement is not a recognized predicate
‘racketeering activity’ for a RICO claim . . . [n]or do the rest
of the pleadings sufficiently support any of the other al-
leged predicate acts.” Id. at 931. We found that the Dis-
trict Court “did not abuse its discretion in denying
Dr. Arunachalam leave to amend the complaint for a sec-
ond time,” because her proposed second amended com-
plaint “still lack[ed] factual allegations to support a
cognizable predicate act for RICO.” Id. at 932. We also
found that because Dr. Arunachalam did not timely appeal
the PTAB Decision invalidating claims 20 and 21 of the
’506 patent, the PTAB Decision “is final and may not be
collaterally attacked through a separate litigation,” thus
mooting Count I’s allegation of patent infringement. Id.
at 933. Finally, we found that the District Court did not
abuse its discretion in denying recusal of Judge Andrews
and Chief Judge Stark, as Dr. Arunachalam had not
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10 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
and IBM express an interest in attorneys’ fees and/or other
sanctions,” any parties seeking attorneys’ fees should file
such requests “by separate motion.” C.A. 139.
In July 2018, Appellees individually moved for sanc-
tions in the form of attorneys’ fees, as well as injunctions
against further filings by Dr. Arunachalam. C.A. 36. After
the motions for sanctions and pre-filing injunctions were
fully briefed, Dr. Arunachalam moved for leave to file a sur-
reply, which necessitated responsive briefing by Appellees.
C.A. 38. The District Court granted Dr. Arunachalam
leave to file a surreply, which she did not file. C.A. 39.
In March 2019, the District Court granted SAP and
JPMorgan’s motion for attorneys’ fees for “defending
against a baseless racketeering lawsuit,” Arunachalam I,
2019 WL 1388625, at *2–3, and granted-in-part IBM’s mo-
tion, id. at *3; see id. (awarding IBM attorneys’ fees only
for “two . . . pleadings,” as Dr. Arunachalam’s ownership of
the ’506 patent and history with IBM “made her racketeer-
ing suit against them a little more plausible [than against
SAP and JPMorgan] if nevertheless still not even close to
stating a colorable complaint”). The District Court did not
rule on the specific fee amounts and ordered Appellees to
submit further documentation. Id. at *4. 11
Appellees then filed new motions for attorneys’ fees
with supporting materials. C.A. 39–40. In May 2019,
Dr. Arunachalam filed her opposition, as well as a list of
contested the factual bases supporting the denials. Id.
at 933–34.
11 The District Court denied Appellees’ motions for
pre-filing injunctions, finding that SAP and IBM’s pro-
posed injunctions were not “narrowly tailored” and stating
that “the imposition of monetary sanctions might be as ef-
fective in discouraging improper behavior.” Arunacha-
lam I, 2019 WL 1388625, at *1.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 11
questions, styled as “Interrogatories Propounded to De-
fendants, their Counsel of Record and Hon. Judge An-
drews.” C.A. 41; see C.A. 140–41 (Interrogatories). This
necessitated a responsive filing by Appellees. C.A. 41.
Dr. Arunachalam then filed two motions requesting that
Judge Andrews and “attorneys of record” produce to
Dr. Arunachalam a copy of their oaths of office, “foreign
registration statements,” as well as “bond” and “insurance
information.” C.A. 41 (capitalization normalized). These
motions also necessitated a responsive filing by Appellees.
C.A 42.
In November 2019, the District Court granted JPMor-
gan and SAP’s motions for attorneys’ fees and granted-in-
part IBM’s motion for attorneys’ fees. Arunachalam II,
2019 WL 5896544, at *3. The District Court awarded
$57,190.40 to JPMorgan, $51,772.09 to SAP; and $40,000
to IBM. Id. at *2–3. The District Court also denied
Dr. Arunachalam’s two “frivolous” motions seeking oaths
of office and additional information from Judge Andrews
and “attorneys of record,” another motion seeking to recuse
Judge Andrews, and a motion seeking to recuse both
Judge Andrews and Chief Judge Stark. Id. at *1.
Dr. Arunachalam then filed two additional motions,
the first styled as “M[otion] And Notice to Enforce the Man-
dated Prohibition from Repudiating Government-Issued
Contract Grants of Any Kind as Declared by Chief Justice
Marshall in Fletcher [v]. Peck (1810) and Trustees of Dart-
mouth College [v]. Woodward (1819) Which Have Never
Been Repudiated and Stand as the Law of the Land and
Case, of Which this Courts Solemn Oath Duty Compels this
Court to Enforce above All Else, with All Due Respect,”
C.A. 42 (Motion to Enforce the Mandated Prohibition), and
the second as “M[otion] for the Court to Vacate Its Uncon-
stitutional Order . . . and Enter a New and Different Or-
der,” C.A. 43 (Motion for the Court to Vacate Its
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12 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
Unconstitutional Order). 12 In January 2020, the District
Court dismissed these two motions, explaining that
Dr. Arunachalam had filed the first motion “in eight differ-
ent cases,” without reference “as to why it was filed in this
case,” and “cit[ing] no rules as to why it could possibly be
timely.” C.A. 2. The District Court construed the second
motion “as a motion for reconsideration,” but found that it
“does not meet the standard for reconsideration be-
cause . . . what it is really challenging is the underlying de-
cision that was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit”—i.e., the dismissal of Counts I–IV of the
Amended Complaint—and “it is too late to move to recon-
sider that decision[.]” C.A. 2.
DISCUSSION
I. The Court’s Inherent Power to Impose Sanctions
A. Standard of Review and Legal Standard
“We review a court’s imposition of sanctions under its
inherent power for abuse of discretion.” Chambers v.
NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 55 (1991); see Amsted Indus.
Inc. v. Buckeye Steel Castings Co., 23 F.3d 374, 379 (Fed.
Cir. 1994) (“This court reviews the lower court’s use of its
inherent power to impose sanctions under the abuse of dis-
cretion standard.” (citing Chambers, 501 U.S. at 54–55)).
“An abuse of discretion occurs when a district court’s deci-
sion commits legal error or is based on a clearly erroneous
assessment of the evidence.” Univ. of Utah v. Max-Planck-
Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften e.V., 851
F.3d 1317, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2017).
“Courts of justice are universally acknowledged to be
vested, by their very creation, with power to impose silence,
respect, and decorum, in their presence, and submission to
The full text of these motions is not in the record.
12
See generally A.A.; C.A.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 13
their lawful mandates.” Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43 (inter-
nal quotation marks and citation omitted). “These powers
are governed not by rule or statute but by the control nec-
essarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as
to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases.”
Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Spe-
cifically, federal courts “may assess attorney[s’] fees when
a party has acted in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for
oppressive reasons.” Id. at 45–46 (internal quotation
marks and citation omitted); see Pickholtz v. Rainbow
Techs., Inc., 284 F.3d 1365, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (holding
that “the inherent power can be used to shift attorney[s’]
fees when there has been . . . conduct that is in bad faith,
vexatious, wanton, or for oppressive reasons”). “The impo-
sition of sanctions” under a court’s inherent power serves
“the dual purpose of vindicating judicial authority without
resort to the more drastic sanctions available for contempt
of court and making the prevailing party whole for ex-
penses caused by his opponent’s obstinacy.” Chambers,
501 U.S. at 46 (internal quotation marks, citation, and al-
terations omitted).
B. The District Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Im-
posing Sanctions Against Dr. Arunachalam
The District Court, exercising its inherent authority,
concluded that “monetary sanctions” were “a reasonable re-
sponse to [Dr. Arunachalam’s] conduct.” Arunachalam I,
2019 WL 1388625, at *3. The District Court explained that
Dr. Arunachalam was an “abusive” and “prodigious liti-
gant,” who forced Appellees to defend “a baseless racket-
eering lawsuit” and to respond to numerous meritless
motions and oppositions, “willful[ly] and in bad faith” failed
to comply with the District Court’s Local Rules and instruc-
tions, filed “repetitive motions for recusal” lacking a “valid
basis,” and otherwise engaged in “vexatious conduct.” Id.
at *2–3. The District Court subsequently awarded
$57,190.40 in attorneys’ fees to JPMorgan, $51,772.09 to
SAP, and $40,000 to IBM. Arunachalam II, 2019 WL
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14 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
5896544, at *2–3. Dr. Arunachalam argues that we cannot
“affirm the District Court’s sanctions and attorneys’ fees
without offending the Constitution.” Appellant’s Br. 55
(capitalization normalized). We disagree with Dr. Aru-
nachalam.
The District Court did not abuse its discretion in im-
posing monetary sanctions. The record amply demon-
strates Dr. Arunachalam’s vexatious and wanton litigation
conduct. For example, Counts II–IV of the Amended Com-
plaint accuse SAP and JPMorgan of three RICO violations,
C.A. 96–100, yet the only factual allegations against them
concern: the District Court’s personal jurisdiction over
them, C.A. 87–88; their alleged use of “[Dr. Arunachalam’s]
patented Web applications on a Web browser,” C.A. 87; and
their lack of a license “under the ’506 patent,” C.A. 91. As
of the date of the issuance of this opinion, these allegations
have embroiled SAP and JPMorgan in baseless litigation
for over four and a half years. C.A. 22 (showing a filing
date of May 2016 for the Amended Complaint). Even after
the dismissal of her RICO claims against Appellees in the
District Court, Dr. Arunachalam reasserted those same
claims against Appellees in another action in the U.S. Dis-
trict Court for the Northern District of California, further
evidencing her vexatious and bad faith conduct. See Aru-
nachalam N.D. Cal., 2018 WL 5023378, at *4, *4 n.2.
During litigation, Dr. Arunachalam forced Appellees
and the District Court to expend resources responding to
her repetitive, frivolous, and often bizarre oppositions and
motions. C.A. 26–44 (showing a total of seven motions filed
by Dr. Arunachalam to recuse Judge Andrews and two to
recuse Chief Judge Stark), 34 (Dr. Arunachalam moving
for reconsideration of the District Court’s dismissal of
Count I), 34 (Dr. Arunachalam moving for “a Statement of
Decision on Whether Contract Law Applies to Patents”),
34–42 (detailing Appellees’ responsive filings), 38 (Dr. Aru-
nachalam moving for leave to file a surreply to Appellees’
motions for sanctions, which she did not file after the
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 15
District Court’s grant of leave), 41 (Dr. Arunachalam’s two
motions requesting that Judge Andrews and “attorneys of
record” produce to her their oaths of office, “foreign regis-
tration statements,” and insurance information), 127
(Dr. Arunachalam opposing dismissal of Count I of the
Amended Complaint even after the PTAB had invalidated
the relevant, and indeed, only remaining, claims of the ’506
patent), 141 (Dr. Arunachalam asking in her “Interrogato-
ries,” filed after dismissal of all counts of the Amended
Complaint, whether any of the Appellees, their counsel of
record, or Judge Andrews had ever associated with, inter
alia, “the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA),” and claiming that “Defendants have colluded
with Judge Andrews and brazenly devised schemes to
evade the Government and the laws of the United States”).
Dr. Arunachalam also willfully failed to comply with the
District Court’s specific instructions regarding the filing of
a second amended complaint. C.A. 122 (the District Court
granting Dr. Arunachalam leave to file a motion to amend
the Amended Complaint “complying with [the District
Court’s Local Rule] 15.1”), 124 (the District Court explain-
ing that Dr. Arunachalam’s 102-page proposed second
amended complaint did not comply with its Local
Rule 15.1).
Finally, the District Court awarded reasonable attor-
neys’ fees. The District Court applied the “lodestar” ap-
proach, calculating attorneys’ fees by “multiplying the
amount of time reasonably expended by reasonable hourly
rates[.]” Arunachalam II, 2019 WL 5896544, at *2 (quoting
Parallel Iron LLC v. NetApp, Inc., 84 F. Supp. 3d 352, 356
(D. Del. 2015)); see Bywaters v. United States, 670
F.3d 1221, 1225–26 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (explaining that “the
amount of attorneys’ fees to be awarded under the ‘lodestar’
approach” is calculated “by multiplying the number of
hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate”).
For SAP and JPMorgan, the District Court “reviewed the
documentary support in relation to the actual billings,” the
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16 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
hourly rates charged, and the pleadings produced during
the relevant periods. Arunachalam II, 2019 WL 5896544,
at *3. 13 The District Court concluded that the claimed
hours and rates were “reasonable,” and awarded SAP and
JPMorgan their requested amounts of fees. Id.; see id.
(awarding $51,772.09 to SAP and $57,190.40 to JPMor-
gan). The District Court performed the same analysis for
IBM’s requested $57,034.38 in fees, and found that though
the rates and hours were reasonable, “the filings . . . ap-
pear to involve some billing for duplication of effort[.]” Id.
at *2. Thus, the District Court awarded IBM fees in the
reduced amount of $40,000. Id. Accordingly, the District
Court did not abuse its discretion in imposing sanctions for
Dr. Arunachalam’s vexatious litigation conduct. See
Chambers, 501 U.S. at 45–46.
Dr. Arunachalam’s counterargument is unpersuasive.
Dr. Arunachalam contends, without offering more, that we
cannot “affirm the District Court’s sanctions and attorneys’
fees without offending the Constitution,” Appellant’s
Br. 55, specifically, her rights under the First, Fifth,
Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, id. at. 2–3. Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s assertions are insufficiently developed. “In or-
der for this court to reach the merits of an issue on appeal,
it must be adequately developed.” Monsanto Co. v.
Scruggs, 459 F.3d 1328, 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2006); see id. (hold-
ing that undeveloped arguments are “deemed waived“);
United States v. Dunkel, 927 F.2d 955, 956 (7th Cir. 1991)
(“A skeletal ‘argument’, really nothing more than an asser-
tion, does not preserve a claim.”). This argument is, ac-
cordingly, waived.
13Dr. Arunachalam opposed Appellees’ requested
fees, arguing that “[n]ot one dollar is reasonable,” “Defend-
ants plagiarized each other,” and took “less than [fifteen]
minutes to write their briefs.” Arunachalam II, 2019 WL
5896544, at *3.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 17
C. The Scandalous and Irrelevant Statements in Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s Briefs Are Stricken
Dr. Arunachalam’s briefing before us is replete with
scandalous and baseless allegations similar to those she
made below, all presented without a semblance of factual
support. 14 Dr. Arunachalam alleges that Appellees and
14 “The court may,” acting “on its own,” “strike from a
pleading . . . any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or
scandalous matter.” FED. R. CIV. P. 12(f)(1). Courts have
applied several definitions for what constitutes “scandal-
ous matter.” Courts may, for example, strike as “clearly . . .
scandalous” a plaintiff’s brief “contain[ing] many allega-
tions wholly aside from the charges made in [the] com-
plaint, and bearing reproachfully upon the moral character
of individuals,” Green v. Elbert, 137 U.S. 615, 624 (1891),
or allegations “bear[ing] no possible relation to the contro-
versy or [that] may cause the objecting party prejudice,”
Talbot v. Robert Matthews Distrib. Co., 961 F.2d 654, 664
(7th Cir. 1992); see Alvarado-Morales v. Digital Equip.
Corp., 843 F.2d 613, 617–18 (1st Cir. 1988) (describing as
scandalous “matter which impugned the character of de-
fendants”); Cobell v. Norton, 224 F.R.D. 1, 5 (D.D.C. 2004)
(stating that “scandalous” statements are those which “un-
necessarily reflect[] on the moral character of an individual
or state[] anything in repulsive language that detracts
from the dignity of the court” (internal quotation marks
and citation omitted)). Further, courts have struck “scan-
dalous matter” in a variety of contexts, such as when plain-
tiffs, without a factual basis, alleged the defendants had
intentionally caused a salmonella outbreak at a dairy pro-
ducer, Talbot, 961 F.2d at 664, and where a pro se plaintiff
alleged, inter alia, “a world-wide religious inquisition” and
“illegal wiretapping by the U.S. Government,” Atraqchi v.
Williams, 220 F.R.D. 1, 3 (D.D.C. 2004); see id. (describing
the allegations as “immaterial, scandalous and frankly
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18 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
“all counsel” have “collusively engaged in obstruction of
justice, aided and abetted by Judges Stark and Andrews,”
Appellant’s Br. 6, have “knowingly, willfully, intentionally,
recklessly, [and] negligently ma[de] False Official State-
ments, causing damage to [Dr. Arunachalam’s] patents and
her pristine character/reputation,” and have “us[ed] the
courts as a vehicle to propagate libel,” id. at 4–5; see id. at
2 (stating that Appellees, their counsel, and the PTAB have
colluded “in a corrupt criminal enterprise”). She claims Ap-
pellees’ counsel “have violated their solemn oaths of office,”
“must be disbarred and sanctioned,” and that their “willful
misrepresentations . . . constitute fraud on the [c]ourt.” Id.
at 16–17 (capitalization normalized). She alleges that “Ap-
pellees’ attorneys engaged in a false propaganda of collat-
eral estoppel from void Orders by financially-conflicted
judges,” id. at 11, and that the District Court “ke[pt] her
gagged so as to prevent her from speaking to defend her-
self,” id. at 8.
Further, Dr. Arunachalam makes multiple demonstra-
bly false statements of fact in her briefing. For example, in
her opening brief, Dr. Arunachalam states that “[n]o Fed-
eral Court [has] ruled that [her] Claims 1–21 of [her] ’506
patent are invalid,” Appellant’s Br. 13, and that “the PTAB
never reached the patent case” as to the validity of the ’506
patent, id. at 16 (emphasis omitted). However, as noted
above, the PTAB affirmed the Patent Examiner’s cancella-
tion of claims 1–19 of the ’506 patent, see Microsoft, 2014
delusional”); Collura v. City of Philadelphia, 590 F. App’x
180, 185 (3d Cir. 2014) (affirming the district court’s dis-
missal of a pro se complaint “replete with abusive language
and ad hominem attacks” under FRCP 12(f)); c.f. Chou v.
Univ. of Chicago, 254 F.3d 1347, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2001)
(finding the district court did not abuse its discretion in
striking plaintiff’s “redundant and immaterial” allegations
of academic theft and fraud under FRCP 12(f)).
Case: 20-1493 Document: 64 Page: 19 Filed: 03/01/2021
ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 19
WL 2968085, at *23, and issued a Final Written Decision
finding claims 20 and 21 of the ’506 patent unpatentable
and denying Dr. Arunachalam’s motion to amend to add
proposed new claims 22–49, SAP, 2017 WL 6551158, at *1;
see id. at *23 (finding that “the subject matter of claims 20
and 21 of the ’506 [p]atent are directed to ineligible subject
matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101” and obvious over the prior
art). The District Court dismissed Dr. Arunachalam’s
claim of infringement of claims 20 and 21 of the ’506 patent,
noting that “[c]laims 1–19 had been cancelled earlier” and
“[t]hus, the PTAB decision meant there [we]re no valid
claims in the ’506 patent to assert.” C.A. 129. We affirmed
the District Court’s dismissal. See Arunachalam III, 759
F. App’x at 934.
Dr. Arunachalam’s bizarre and scandalous statements
extend to this court, the Judiciary, and indeed the Govern-
ment as a whole. She alleges that we have colluded with
the District Court, the PTAB, and Appellees in a “collateral
estoppel farce propagated against multiple [c]ourts,” Ap-
pellant’s Br. 13, and that we have “committed treason,” id.
at 18; see id. (claiming that “[t]his [c]ourt needs to have a
criminal investigation started against all the Constitu-
tional tortfeasors,” and “the Judges, [the] PTAB Adminis-
trative Judges[,] and lawyers who breached their solemn
oaths of office . . . must be arrested”). Dr. Arunachalam
states that we have “failed to apply Governing Supreme
Court Precedents,” as well as our own precedent, to her
case, and that our “rulings are all void.” Id. at 13. She
claims that “the Courts and [the PTAB]” “injured” her
“through a treasonous breach of solemn oaths of office by
Judges and officers of the court and the corruption of fraud
of the court and the [PTAB].” Id. at 17. Dr. Arunachalam
also alleges that “the Judiciary[,] the Executive Branch . . .
and [the] Legislative Branch . . . violat[ed] the Contract
Clause and the Separation of Powers Clauses of the Con-
stitution[.]” Id. at 12–13. This is far from an exhaustive
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20 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
list of Dr. Arunachalam’s allegations. See generally id. 1–
58; Reply Br. 1–27.
Further, Dr. Arunachalam’s scandalous and unsup-
ported statements are largely irrelevant to the issues on
appeal and take up the vast majority of her briefing, hin-
dering our ability to review her pertinent arguments, if
any. Despite acknowledging that her appeal “stems from
the District Court’s [orders] granting Defendants-Appel-
lees’ Motion for Attorneys’ Fees[,]” Appellant’s Br. 7,
Dr. Arunachalam’s briefing is almost entirely comprised of
accusations pertaining to the PTAB’s cancellation of the
’506 patent and the District Court’s dismissal of her
Amended Complaint, see generally id. 1–58; Reply Br. 1–
27, matters on which we have already ruled and which are
not at issue on appeal, see Arunachalam III, 759 F. App’x
at 933–34 (affirming the District Court’s dismissal of all
counts of the Amended Complaint and explaining that
Dr. Arunachalam’s failure to appeal the PTAB Decision
makes its decision “final” and not subject to collateral at-
tack “through a separate litigation”). Thus, Dr. Arunacha-
lam’s scandalous and irrelevant statements impede
meaningful review of her arguments. See SmithKline Bee-
cham Corp. v. Apotex Corp., 439 F.3d 1312, 1320 (Fed.
Cir. 2006) (“‘Judges are not like pigs, hunting for truffles
buried in briefs.’” (quoting Dunkel, 927 F.2d at 956)). 15
15 Additionally, Dr. Arunachalam’s briefing contains
no citations to the record, despite making numerous factual
allegations. See generally Appellant’s Br. 1–58; Reply
Br. 1–27; FED. R. APP. P. 28(a)(6) (“The appellant’s brief
must contain . . . a concise statement of the case setting out
the facts relevant to the issues submitted for review . . .
with appropriate references to the record[.]”), 28(a)(8)(A)
(stating that an appellant’s brief must include an argu-
ment containing the “appellant’s contentions . . . with
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 21
The scandalous and irrelevant statements in Dr. Aru-
nachalam’s briefing raise the judicial management con-
cerns the Supreme Court identified in Chambers. See 501
U.S. at 43 (describing the courts’ need “to achieve the or-
derly and expeditious disposition of cases” (internal quota-
tion marks and citation omitted)); Finch v. Hughes Aircraft
Co., 926 F.2d 1574, 1578 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (“[A]ppellate
courts must consider the importance of conserving scarce
judicial resources.”). To this end, courts are “vested, by
their very creation,” with “certain implied powers.” Cham-
bers, 501 U.S. at 43 (internal alterations, quotation marks,
and citation omitted); see Micron Tech., Inc. v. Rambus
Inc., 645 F.3d 1311, 1326 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (stating that
“courts have the inherent power to control litigation by im-
posing sanctions appropriate to rectify improper conduct by
litigants” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)).
These powers are wide-ranging. See Chambers, 501 U.S.
at 43 (“[A] federal court has the power to control admission
to its bar and to discipline attorneys who appear before
it.”); id. at 44 (holding that courts may punish for contempt
those who are “disobedien[t] to the orders of the Judici-
ary”); id. 44–46 (holding that courts “may bar from the
courtroom a criminal defendant who disrupts a trial[,]”
may “assess attorney[s’] fees when a party has acted in bad
faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons,”
and “may act sua sponte to dismiss a suit for failure to pros-
ecute” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)).
Particularly relevant here, while these “inherent pow-
ers must be exercised with restraint and discretion,” “[a]
primary aspect of that discretion is the ability to fashion an
appropriate sanction for conduct which abuses the judicial
process.” Id. at 44–45; cf. FED. R. APP. P. 38 (providing that
this court may impose sanctions if we “determine[] that an
citations to . . . [the] parts of the record on which the appel-
lant relies”).
Case: 20-1493 Document: 64 Page: 22 Filed: 03/01/2021
22 ARUNACHALAM v. IBM
appeal is frivolous”); Nat’l Org. of Veterans Advocates,
Inc. v. Sec’y of Veterans Affs., 710 F.3d 1328, 1335 (Fed. Cir.
2013) (“[W]hile sanctions must be fashioned with restraint
and discretion, courts of justice can fashion appropriate
monetary and nonmonetary sanctions to rectify misbehav-
ior.”).
Even according Dr. Arunachalam wider latitude in
view of her pro se status, her baseless, outlandish, and ir-
relevant invective degrades the dignity and decorum of the
court and hampers “the orderly and expeditious disposition
of cases.” Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43 (internal quotation
marks and citation omitted). Sanctions are appropriate to
address and discourage such abusive conduct. See Con-
nell v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 722 F.2d 1542, 1554 (Fed.
Cir. 1983) (imposing sanctions and explaining that “we are
duty-bound to guard our segment of the judicial process
against abuse”). We have considered the range of sanctions
discussed above. See Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43–46. In view
of the fact that monetary sanctions have already been as-
sessed in the underlying case, as well as the form of
Dr. Arunachalam’s misconduct, we conclude that a lesser
sanction is appropriate. 16 Accordingly, the scandalous and
irrelevant statements in Dr. Arunachalam’s briefs alleging,
inter alia, “obstruction of justice,” “a corrupt criminal en-
terprise,” “libel,” “willful misrepresentations,” and “fraud”
by the District Court, Judges Stark and Andrews, and Ap-
pellees’ counsel, Appellant’s Br. 2–17, as well as “treason,”
collusion in a “collateral estoppel farce,” and “fraud” by the
PTAB, this Court and its Judges, and “the Courts” gener-
ally, id. at 13–17, are stricken.
16In addition to the assessments of costs, further sub-
missions of a similar character would raise the possibility
of monetary sanctions from this Court. See Chambers, 501
U.S. at 44–45.
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ARUNACHALAM v. IBM 23
CONCLUSION
We have considered Dr. Arunachalam’s remaining ar-
guments and find them unpersuasive. 17 Accordingly, the
Judgment of the U.S. District Court for the District of Del-
aware is
AFFIRMED
COSTS
Costs to IBM, SAP, and JPMorgan.
17 In her Notice of Appeal, Dr. Arunachalam stated
that, in addition to the District Court’s grant of monetary
sanctions, she was also appealing the denials of her Motion
to Enforce the Mandated Prohibition and Motion for the
Court to Vacate Its Unconstitutional Orders. Notice of Ap-
peal 1–2, ECF No. 1. Yet, Dr. Arunachalam’s briefs did not
address the reasons for the District Court’s denial of these
motions—namely, that she had filed the first motion “in
eight different cases,” without explaining its relevance or
untimeliness, and that the second motion was an attempt
to re-challenge the dismissal of her Amended Complaint,
which we had already affirmed. C.A. 2; see Arunacha-
lam III, 759 F. App’x at 934; see generally Appellant’s
Br. 1–58; Reply Br. 1–27. Accordingly, these issues are
waived. See SmithKline Beecham Corp. 439 F.3d at 1320.