WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Covidien LP seeking to restore a $176 million patent infringement verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc.

In refusing to hear the case, the high court left in place a December 2014 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that threw out a judge’s finding that Ethicon had infringed upon Covidien's patents for surgical cutting tools. Covidien is owned by Medtronic Plc.

In a separate patent case, the court declined to hear Biolitec AG's challenge to a $70 million contempt finding relating to a patent dispute the company had with AngioDynamics Inc.

The court's refusal to take the case means a March ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of AngioDynamics remains intact.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)