Chief Judge Stark Grants Motion to Disqualify Expert

In MorphoSys AG v. Janssen Biotech, Inc., C.A. No. 16-221-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Aug. 7, 2017), Chief Judge Stark, by oral order, granted the plaintiff’s request to disqualify the defendants’ expert. The Court found that there was a confidential relationship between the plaintiff and the expert, in which the expert was exposed to confidential and privileged material,…

Judge Andrews Grants in Part and Denies in Part Motion for Protective Order

In Forest Laboratories, LLC v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., C.A. No. 16-1114-RGA (D. Del. Aug. 3, 2017), Judge Andrews denied without prejudice one defendant’s request to provide the plaintiffs’ highly confidential information to the defendant’s “Vice President and Head IPR.” Relying on the description of the Vice President’s job duties, the Court held that the Vice…

Chief Judge Stark Orders Bellwether Trial

In Intel Corporation v. Future Link Systems, LLC, C.A. No. 14-377-LPS (D. Del. July 31, 2017), Chief Judge Stark ordered a “bellwether” jury trial to determine liability and damages on three of the twelve asserted patents. The Court explained that this procedure would “have the virtue of giving the parties a near-term opportunity to obtain certainty…

Judge Andrews Denies Motion to Renew Motion to Dismiss

In Indivior Inc. v. Mylan Technologies Inc., C.A. No. 15-1016-RGA (D. Del. July 28, 2017), Judge Andrews denied the defendant’s motion to renew its motion to dismiss for improper venue. The defendant had originally moved to dismiss for lack of venue as well as lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. Before the Court…

Judge Andrews Grants Motion to Amend Complaint

In Purdue Pharma L.P. v. Epic Pharma, LLC, C.A. No. 16-87-RGA (D. Del. July 27, 2017), Judge Andrews granted the plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint to include an additional patent. The Court found that adding the patent “ma[de] sense” because the patent came from the same family and its addition would be efficient for all…

Senior Judge Robinson Finds Broad Subject Matter Waiver Related to Opinions of Counsel

In The Johns Hopkins University v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc., C.A. No. 15-525-SLR/SRF (D. Del. July 14, 2017), Senior Judge Robinson addressed the plaintiff’s objections to Magistrate Judge Fallon’s order defining the scope of a privilege waiver arising from the defendants’ reliance on advice of counsel. Although Judge Fallon ordered that the defendants produce “any additional documents…

Senior Judge Robinson Denies Motion for Attorneys’ Fees

In Stephenson v. Game Show Network, LLC, C.A. No. 12-614-SLR (D. Del. July 11, 2017), Judge Robinson denied the defendants’ motion for an exceptional case finding and attorneys’ fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285. Judgment had been entered against the plaintiff after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found all claims of the asserted patent invalid,…

Magistrate Judge Burke Grants Motion to Transfer Venue

In Contour IP Holding, LLC v. GoPro, Inc., C.A. No. 15-1108-LPS-CJB (D. Del. July 6, 2017), Magistrate Judge Burke granted the defendant’s motion to transfer venue to the Northern District of California, the location of its principal place of business. In analyzing the transfer factors, the Court first found that the plaintiff’s choice of forum was…

Chief Judge Stark Provides “Inclinations” on Post-Trial Motions

In GlaxoSmithKline LLC v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., C.A. No. 14-878-LPS (D. Del. July 27, 2017), Chief Judge Stark set forth his tentative views of the parties’ potential post-trial motion in a post-trial letter to counsel. The Court hoped that his communication to the parties would “make briefing and resolution of those motions more efficient.” With…

Questions Raised on Required Clarity of Disclosures in SEC Filings

Two recent decisions of the Delaware Court of Chancery separated by only two weeks took seemingly contradictory positions regarding the extent to which corporate disclosures must be made clear in proxy statements and other SEC filings. In an order issued on March 7 in In re Columbia Pipeline Group Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 12152-VCL (Del. Ch.…