The District of Delaware has many more jury trials scheduled in the next two months than it has in recent months, and several of the upcoming trials were originally postponed for COVID-19 reasons. The September calendar looks particularly busy at the moment, but several case dockets indicate steps toward resolving before trial, suggesting that several of these trials may not be on the calendar much longer.
Remaining August Jury Trials
District of Delaware continues to permit multiple simultaneous jury trials, as evidenced by the three trials to begin on the same day this month:
- 8/16/2021: McClanahan v. Priority 1 Air Rescue Operations Arizona, LP., et al., C.A. 18-1237-CFC-SRF (D. Del.): This personal injury and product liability torts case and is scheduled to last five days before Chief Judge Connolly.
- 8/23/2021: Koki Holdings Co., Ltd. v. Kyocera Senco Industrial Tools, Inc., C.A. 18-313-CFC-CJB (D. Del.): This patent case recently narrowed its issues for trial and is also scheduled to last for five days before Chief Judge Connolly.
- 8/23/2021: USA v. Aaron Davis, C.A. 19-101-LPS-1 (D. Del.): This criminal case was originally planned to take place over five days but now appears to be scheduled for only a single day, according to PACER calendar, before Judge Stark.
- 8/23/2021: Archer DX, LLC et al v. QIAGEN Sciences, LLC, C.A. 18-1019-MN (D. Del.): This patent case previously included trade secret misappropriation, false advertising, and other dropped claims, and it will last until September 3, 2021 for a total of ten days before Judge Noreika.
Cancelled August Jury Trials
Two jury trials scheduled for August were cancelled, but one of them could be back on the calendar in the future:
- 8/16/2021: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. v. Autel Robotics USA LLC, C.A. 16-706-LPS (D. Del.): After the parties filed a sealed joint letter (perhaps relating to settlement), the jury trial for this patent case before Judge Stark was cancelled.
- 8/31/2021: Rabe v. Wittman, C.A. 19-838-RGA-SRF (D. Del.): This motor vehicle action before Judge Andrews is still on the PACER calendar, but the most recent case filings indicate that it was settled on July 16, 2021 and a dismissal would be forthcoming. A status conference for the end of the month has been scheduled instead, however, indicating that the case may remain ongoing.
September Jury Trials
There are fifteen trials currently on the calendar for September, but a few cases (*) appear to be close to resolving before trial:
- 9/7/2021: Ingevity Corporation v. BASF Corporation, C.A. 18-1391-RGA (D. Del.): Judge Andrews will preside over this five-day patent case.
- 9/13/2021: First Quality Tissue, LLC v. Irving Consumer Products Limited, C.A. 19-428-RGA (D. Del.): Only a few weeks prior to the five-day trial before Judge Andrews, parties in this patent case are undertaking a dispute over whether additional electronic files need to be produced.
- 9/13/2021: Cohen v. Cohen, C.A. 19-1219-MN (D. Del.): This is a five-day child sexual abuse and human trafficking case before Judge Noreika.
- 9/20/2021: Lampkins v. Mitra QSR KNE, LLC, C.A. 16-647-CFC (D. Del.): Chief Judge Connolly will preside over this rescheduled employment law trial.
- 9/20/2021: Amgen Inc. v. Hospira, Inc., C.A. 18-1064-CFC-CJB (D. Del.): This patent trial was rescheduled for COVID-19 concerns back in March, and will be held over five days before Chief Judge Connolly.
- 9/20/2021: Alcoa Inc. v. Alcan Inc., C.A. 6-451-JFB-SRF (D. Del.): This contract case was previously scheduled for February 8, 2021. According to the PACER calendar, the single-day trial still does not have a specified location; no recent docket entries appear to have been filed since January, other than a pro hac vice request, leaving its status ambiguous for now.
- 9/20/2021: USA v. Colon, C.A. 17-47-LPS (D. Del.): This is a one-day criminal trial before Judge Stark.
- 9/20/2021: NexStep, Inc. v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, C.A. 19-1031-RGA-SRF (D. Del.): Judge Andrews recently reviewed the magistrate judge’s Markman findings, and this patent case is scheduled for a three-day trial.
- 9/20/2021*: Blackbird Tech LLC v. Feit Electric Company Inc., C.A. 15-56-RGA (D.Del.): Though this five-day patent case before Judge Andrews would have coincided with the NexStep case also before Judge Andrews, the parties have indicated that they are “close to finalizing a written settlement agreement”, so this case may disappear from the calendar soon. See D.I. 214.
- 9/27/2021*: Kennedy v. Sallie Mae Bank, C.A. 20-353-SB (D. Del.): The parties in this Family and Medical Leave Act case have indicated that they are close to settling, but the trial is still on the calendar before Chief Judge Connolly until settlement is finalized.
- 9/27/2021: Baker v. Alpha Consolidated Holdings, C.A. 180976-LPS (D. Del.): This patent trial will proceed “as scheduled” with Judge Stark presiding. See D.I. 320.
- 9/27/2021: ChromaDex, Inc. v. Elysium Health, Inc., C.A. 18-1434 (D. Del.): This patent case will last five days before Chief Judge Connolly.
- 9/27/2021: Shabazz v. Delaware Department of Corrections, C.A. 16-579-RGA (D. Del.): This is a prisoner civil rights case before Judge Andrews.
- 9/27/2021*: Sentient Sensors, LLC v. Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, C.A. 19-1868-MN (D. Del.): The parties in this patent case filed a joint stipulation to stay all pretrial proceedings and indicated steps toward settlement.
These are the jury trials we see upcoming on the PACER calendar. If there are any others that escaped our attention, please send in a note, and we’ll update the post.
If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to receive free e-mail updates about new posts.
