On November 17, 2015, during a deposition of a fact witness, counsel for the plaintiff, Ericsson Inc. (“Ericsson”), attempted to question the witness regarding a litigation hold memorandum (the “memo”). Counsel for the plaintiff stated that she inquired as to the existence of such a memo, the date received, if…
Articles Posted in Discovery
Court Declines to Stay Discovery Pending Motion to Dismiss Under Section 101 Because Court Does Not Believe That There Is an Immediate and Clear Possibility that Motion to Dismiss Will be Granted
The defendants filed a motion to stay discovery until the district court ruled upon its motion to dismiss pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 101. In their motion to stay, Defendants asserted that its motion to stay discovery should be granted because it is a dispositive motion to dismiss that is…
Court Orders Sanctions for Failure to Produce Source Code on a Timely Basis
Plaintiffs Ericsson Inc. and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson’s (“Ericsson”) filed a motion to compel discovery of source code and technical documents, pursuant to Local Patent Rule 3-4 in the Eastern District of Texas. As explained by the district court, Patent Local Rule 3-4 requires the party opposing a claim of infringement…
Court Orders Further Production of Financial Records from Company and Accountant, Finding “Inconceivable” That Company Was Only Able to Locate Two Years of Tax Returns
Plaintiffs filed an action defendants, Bouncing Angels, Inc. for, among other things, patent and copyright infringement. Plaintiffs successfully moved the district court to allow them to amend the complaint to add the owner of defendant Bouncing Angels, Inc., as a defendant based on financial evidence they discovered that could support…
In-House Counsel Ordered to Sit for Additional Deposition After Emails Improperly Withheld on Basis of Privilege
Sprint Communications Company, L.P., filed a patent-infringement action against Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, Comcast IP Phone, LLC, and Comcast Phone of Kansas, LLC (collectively, “Comcast”). The district court had previously ordered Comcast to produce seven emails received by Comcast’s in-house patent counsel, David Marcus, that Comcast had improperly withheld as…
Claw Back of Privileged Documents Fails Where Defendants Had Used the Documents in Depositions, Expert Reports and in Briefs without Objection
Defendants filed a motion to compel Adaptix to re-produce documents that Adaptix had clawed back on the grounds of privilege. Adaptix had early produced the documents in several productions. The Defendants argued in the motion that even if Adaptix could demonstrate the documents are privileged, Adaptix waived the privilege because…
Cascades v. Samsung: Court Denies Motion to Compel Deposition of Trial Counsel but Grants Request to Produce Fee Agreement
Defendant Samsung Electronics Co. (“Samsung”) filed a motion to compel plaintiff Cascades Computer Innovation, LLC (“Cascades”) to produce additional documents and to require its trial counsel to appear for a deposition. Samsung moved to compel the deposition of Cascade’s trial counsel based on the argument that Cascades’s principal, Anthony Brown,…
Farstone v. Apple: With “far too many disputes,” Court orders face-to-face meet and confer to resolve motion to compel
Apple filed a motion to compel discovery from Farstone Technology, Inc. (“Farstone”) by way of a Joint Stipulation as required by the court’s local rules. After the court reviewed the joint stipulation, it found that there were significant problems and that too many disputes remained for the court to resolve.…
District Court Denies Motion to Compel and for Sanctions Where CFO Could Not Be Compelled to Testify on Broad Deposition Topics Including Royalties, Affirmative Defenses, Infringement Contentions and Invalidity Contentions
Plaintiff Stoneeagle Services, Inc. (“Stoneeagle”) filed a motion seeking sanctions against Defendant Premier Healthcare Exchange, Inc. (“PHX”) for failing to provide a prepared corporate representative to testify pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In response to the motion, PHX did not dispute that its corporate…
Aylus v. Apple: District Court Orders Production of Revenue Documents
Aylus Networks, Inc. (“Aylus”) sought documents from Apple “relating to the revenue, costs and profits from (1) purchases or rentals of iTunes video content using the accused Apple TV and/or iOS products iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch (‘Accused iOS Products’) [and] (2) purchases of video games on the App Store…