On July 23, 2018, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law Senate Bill No. 183, which amends the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (the “DLLCA”). The legislation addresses a number of aspects of a Delaware limited liability company (a “Delaware LLC”); however, the amendments most affecting commercial real estate lending are the creation of a new…

Proposed amendments to the Delaware GeneralCorporation Law would, among other things, addnew provisions relating to documentation of transactionby electronic means, revise the default provisionsapplicable to stockholder notices, includingthose governing appraisal, clarify the timing of unanimousconsents of directors, and make other technicalchanges.…

Judge Noreika has updated her form of scheduling order to require the submission of a concise statement of numbered, material facts with dispositive motions. The responding party must separately admit or deny each fact, and may submit its own concise statement of facts. The requirement applies to all pending civil cases. The updated scheduling order can…

In Onyx Therapeutics, Inc. v. Cipla Ltd., No. 16-988-LPS (D. Del. Feb. 15, 2019), Chief Judge Stark rejected the plaintiff’s claim that certain documents withheld from production were protected by the patent agent-client privilege. The ruling followed the Court’s review in camera of documents identified in privilege log entries selected by the parties as representative…

In Confluent Surgical, Inc. v. HyperBranch Medical Technology, Inc., No. 17-688-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Feb. 6, 2019), Magistrate Judge Burke denied the plaintiffs’ motion to compel the production of documents in the control of an executive of the defendant’s parent corporation. The defendant responded that as a subsidiary it could not demand emails held by an executive…

The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has selected Jennifer L. Hall, currently the chief of the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, to fill the newly created fourth magistrate judge position in the District. Ms. Hall earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota,…

In Adverio Pharma GmbH v. Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd., No. 18-73-LPS (D. Del. Feb. 13, 2019), a Hatch-Waxman case, Chief Judge Stark granted defendant INC Research, LLC’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The plaintiff sued the defendants for submitting an ANDA for a generic version of the plaintiff’s brand drug. The complaint alleged…

This update provides short updates on judicial decisions, trends, and notable events in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, traditionally one of the three busiest jurisdictions for intellectual property litigation.

In three unrelated sets of cases,1  Chief Judge Stark and Magistrate Judge Burke jointly presided over an omnibus hearing on pending motions for unpatentability under 35 U.S.C. § 101. At the conclusion of the hearing, Chief Judge Stark ruled from the bench, granting six motions to dismiss on grounds of no patentable subject matter and denying…