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Entries for tag: Visiting Judges

D. Del. Announces Plan for Judge Stark's Departure That Includes Cancelling Mediations in Cases Before All Judges

Andrew E. Russell, March 3, 2022
Visiting Judges Congestion

The gloves are off.
The gloves are off. Arisa Chattasa, Unsplash

The Court announced it's plan for Judge Stark's departure today, and it includes some bold moves.

All attorneys who practice in D. Del. should read the announcement in full—it's not that long—but here are some highlights.

Pending Mediations Will Be Canceled

Unlike previous transitions, most district court cases will be impacted, because magistrate judge referrals for mediation and all pending mediations will be canceled except in select instances:

Other than mediations in bankruptcy appeals or unless specifically directed otherwise by the Court, all referrals to Magistrate Judges for alternate dispute resolution will be vacated and all currently scheduled mediations will be canceled.

Thus, mediations in non-judge-Stark cases will be canceled. …

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Oh Captain, My Captain

Nathan R. Hoeschen, Feb. 10, 2022
Visiting Judges Congestion

Andreas Dress, Unsplash

It is with heavy heart that I announce that Judge Stark has finally been confirmed to the Federal Circuit. Appointed to our little Court in 2010, Judge Stark's time with us has been all too brief, and he will be dearly missed by all of us who practiced before him and/or shared his love of T. Swift (2/2)

With Judge O'Malley set to retire on March 11, Judge Stark is likely to be sworn in very shortly thereafter. If the past is any guide, we can soon expect Judge Stark's active cases to be transferred to visiting visiting judges or magistrates while the district awaits a new Article III judge.

We here at IP/DE will keep you updated on any Judge Stark happenings at the Federal Circuit, on the theory that he will always carry a piece of Delaware with him, like a traveling embassy for the first state.

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Judge Stark Begins Assigning Cases to Visiting Judges

Nathan R. Hoeschen, Jan. 20, 2022
Visiting Judges Congestion

Goodbye Judge!
Goodbye Judge! Japanese cat figurines, Alain Pham, Unsplash

Following Judge Stark's nomination to the Federal Circuit and subsequent smooth appearance before the Judiciary Committee, we've all begun to wonder when he would begin unloading his pending cases.

Well wonder no more!

On Tuesday, Judge Stark issued the following oral order in 360Heros, Inc. v. GoPro, Inc., C.A. No. 17-1302-LPS, D.I. 260 (D. Del. Jan. 18, 2022):

Having reviewed the parties' letter relating to the jury trial currently scheduled to begin on March 7 . . . IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the trial is CONTINUED to a date to be determined. The parties are advised that in advance of trial, likely sometime in February, …
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A New Visiting Judge for Patent Cases in Delaware?

Andrew E. Russell, Jan. 3, 2022
Visiting Judges Congestion

Tennessee
Tennessee Mike Lento, Unsplash

Today Judge Andrews reassigned a case to what appears to be a new visiting judge for the District of Delaware, Senior District Judge Jon Phipps McCalla of the Western District of Tennessee:

Case Reassigned to Judge Jon P McCalla of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Please include the initials of the Judge (JPM) after the case number on all documents filed. (rjb) (Entered: 01/03/2022)

Emerson Process Management Regulator Technologies, Inc. v. Pietro Fiorentini (USA), Inc., C.A. No. 21-1488-JPM (D. Del.).

To my knowledge, this is the first referral of a Distrct of Delaware patent case to Judge McCalla, and he is not yet on the …

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Three Out of Five Parties Receiving the Recent Magistrate Referral Orders Consented to Magistrate Referral

Andrew E. Russell, Dec. 29, 2021
Visiting Judges Case Management

Consent
Pawel Czerwinski, Unsplash

Two weeks ago, we wrote about a new set of referral orders in five Chief Judge Connolly cases. These orders offer the parties the choice to either consent to referral to Magistrate Judge Hall, or have their case referred to a visiting judge.

At this point, all parties have responded, and three out of five sets of parties consented to jurisdiction before Magistrate Judge Hall rather than having the case referred to a visiting judge. Seems like a good result! It will be interesting to see whether the Court continues to use these orders going forward.

I didn't see any obvious patterns among the cases that did or did not consent, although five cases is too small …

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