A Blog About Intellectual Property Litigation and the District of Delaware


LPS
The Honorable Leonard P. Stark

D. Del. Jury Trials Are Not Back After All

Andrew E. Russell, July 14, 2020
COVID-19

COVID-19
CDC / Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS

Last week we wrote that jury trials are back, based on Judge Stark's detailed memorandum order scheduling an August 3rd jury trial in Sunoco.

Yesterday, Judge Stark ended up delaying that trial after all.

Plaintiff had filed a letter setting forth some interesting reasons why the Court cannot conduct a fair jury trial:

  • Video-conferenced witness testimony risks unfair results
  • The jury pool is affected by Coronavirus' disparate impact (e.g. to minorities and the elderly)
  • Plaintiff's Texas-based attorneys would have to quarantine; Defendants Delaware-based attorneys would not
  • Plaintiff's witnesses live in Philadelphia, and cannot travel to Delaware for in-person witness prep without having to quarantine

They also noted that Coronavirus cases …

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Jury Trials Are Back (Sort of)

Jeff Castellano, July 7, 2020
Jury Trials COVID-19

Just before the July 4 holiday, Chief Judge Stark provided some much-anticipated guidance regarding the reinstatement of jury trials in the District of Delaware after the current moratorium expires on July 31, 2020.

In a July 2, 2020 order in Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P. v. Powder Springs Logistics, LLC, C.A. No. 17-1390-LPS-CJB, Judge Stark told the parties that he had spent "countless hours" meeting with experts and stakeholders about restarting jury trials in his capacity as Chief Judge, and that the Court was "undertaking extensive efforts to be ready to resume jury trials in August, if it is possible to do so safely." With that background, he outlined the details of how the jury trial in the Sunoco case will proceed on August 3, 2020.

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Judge Stark Dismisses ANDA Case For Reasons that Now Seem Obvious

Andrew E. Russell, June 29, 2020
Paragraph III ANDA

Judge Stark today dismissed an ANDA claim after the defendant converted their ANDA in such a way that it simply did not infringe, and plaintiff was left with no claim and no remedy.

What Is an ANDA? (The Short Short Version)

ANDA cases make up a fair portion of the Court's docket. If you're not already familiar, ANDA cases are brought by patent holders after a drug manufacturer files an ANDA seeking approval to manufacture a generic version of a drug.

As part of the ANDA, if there are unexpired patents listed with the FDA as covering the drug, the manufacturer may certify either that the patents are invalid, unenforceable, or won't be infringed (paragraph IV), or …

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Chief Judge Stark Schedules In-Person Argument for July 1

Andrew E. Russell, May 27, 2020
COVID-19

Today, Chief Judge Stark scheduled an in-person hearing for July 1, 2020—one day after the expiration of the current standing order re: COVID-19.

The Court's current standing order does not preclude in-person hearings, but the Court has been holding hearings telephonically or by video conference during the pandemic. This order shows that the Court--or at least Chief Judge Stark—is hoping to restart some in-person hearings relatively soon.

The full text of the Court's oral order is:

ORAL ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Court will hear argument on the post-trial motions on July 1, 2020 beginning at 1:00 p.m. Each side will be allocated up to one (1) hour to present its argument. This hearing is tentatively scheduled to …
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