It's been about two weeks since we last talked about the upcoming trial schedule. In that update, we noted that D. Del. jury trials are truly back, with at least one criminal jury trial having already concluded.
First Post-COVID Patent Jury Trial Next Week?
It looks like In Re Chanbond, LLC Patent Litigation, C.A. 15-842-RGA (D. Del.) is still on track to be the first post-COVID-19 patent jury trial. It is set to start on Thursday 5/20 before Judge Andrews, and from all appearances it will go forward.
To my knowledge, the Court's COVID-19 protocols are still in effect; as such, only one jury trial may proceed at a time. (But please contact us if you have better information!)
That single-jury-trial limitation may start to impact scheduling in the second half of June, as there are currently two jury trials that overlap on June 21, and three that are booked to start on June 28 (plus another on June 30).
No Further Changes for Mediations
I also heard this week that one of the judges mentioned during a mediation that the magistrate judges are not currently planning on doing in-person mediations through the end of 2021, although obviously that's subject to change. Last month we passed along, with permission, that it's up to the individual magistrate judges whether they will permit in-person mediation.
Plenty of Jury Trials On the Calendar for May-June 2021
- 5/20/2021: In Re Chanbond, LLC Patent Litigation, C.A. 15-842-RGA (D. Del.): Mentioned above, this patent trial before Judge Andrews looks like it will go forward next week.
- 6/7/2021: Clark v. Coupe, C.A. No. 17-66-RGA (D. Del.): This prisoner civil rights case is set to go proceed, and Judge Andrews held the pretrial conference today.
- 6/10/2021: Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P. v. Powder Springs Logistics, LLC, C.A. No. 17-1390-LPS (D. Del.): This patent jury trial before Chief Judge Stark involves a number of parties and has a lengthy docket. It is scheduled to go forward with jury selection on June 10, and then with trial on June 14-18 and 21 .
- 6/21/2021: First Wheel Management Limited v. Inventist, Inc., C.A. No. 17-1059-MN (D. Del.): A jury trial is still set for this contract action before Judge Noreika, although the docket has been quiet for the past four months or so. This may be double-booked with Sunoco, if Sunoco goes the full time, under the current COVID-19 one-jury-trial-at-a-time rule.
- 6/28/2021: USA v. Boyce, C.A. No. 20-43-CFC (D. Del.): So far, this criminal jury trial before Judge Connolly looks like it may go forward, although it is currently triple-booked with CP Printing and GEMAK Trust, below.
- 6/28/2021: CP Printing Limited v. Glitterati Incorporated, C.A. No. 18-1526-SRF (D. Del.): This is a 2-day consent trial before Magistrate Judge Fallon in a contract action. Last week the parties filed joint proposed COVID-19 protocols for trial. It's currently triple-booked.
- 6/28/2021: GEMAK Trust v. Reckitt Benckiser LLC, C.A. No. 18-1855-RGA (D. Del.): A 3-to-5-day jury trial is scheduled in this patent action before Judge Andrews. I see no mention of the trial date on the docket since it was set in 2019, but the parties look busy.
- 6/30/2021: Eugene Scalia v. DeVilbiss Landscape Architects, Inc., C.A. No. 17-354-MN (D. Del.): This 3-day Fair Labor Standards Act jury trial is scheduled to start mid-week, immediately after the 2-day trial in CP Printing.
Some Jury Trials Canceled or Continued Last Month
Two of the trials that we previously mentioned have since been canceled or continued:
- 6/1/2021: Bioverativ Inc. v. CSL Behring LLC, C.A. No. 17-914-RGA-SRF (D. Del.) and Twin Spans Business Park, LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., C.A. No. 19-476-RGA (D. Del.): Both of these trials were canceled early last month due to Coronavirus concerns.
Reminder to readers: Keep in mind that you can always see our most up-to-date posts about trial scheduling in Delaware under the Trial Calendar tag.
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