Judge Stark Adopts Report and Recommendation, Denies Plaintiffs’ Motion to Dismiss Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim and Affirmative Defense

Judge Stark recently issued an Order in Wyeth Holdings Corp., et al. v. Sandoz, Inc., C.A. No. 09-955-LPS-CJB, adopting an earlier Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Burke, and denying plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss defendant’s inequitable conduct counterclaim and to strike defendant’s affirmative defense based on inequitable conduct. Id. at 1-2. In the Order, Judge

Reconciling Therasense and Exergen, Judge Burke Recommends That Motion to Dismiss Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim and to Strike Inequitable Conduct Affirmative Defense Be Denied

In a recent Report and Recommendation in Wyeth Holdings Corp., et al. v. Sandoz, Inc., C.A. No. 09-955-LPS-CJB, Judge Burke concluded that plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss defendant’s inequitable conduct counterclaim and to strike defendant’s affirmative defense based on inequitable conduct should be denied. Id. at 1, 30. In this case, plaintiffs initially filed a complaint

Magistrate Judge Burke: Motion to Consolidate Granted

Magistrate Judge Burke recently considered a motion to consolidate two pending patent cases in Eastman Chem. Co. v. Alphapet Inc., C.A. No. 09-971-LPS-CJB (Dec. 29, 2011). Finding for the defendant and ordering consolidation, Magistrate Judge Burke noted that “there are numerous common questions of law and fact between the 971 action and the 702 action.”

Judge Burke Denies Plaintiff’s Motion for Substitution, But Rules That the Proposed New Plaintiffs Be Joined as Parties in the Action

In Eastman Chemical Co. v. Alphapet Inc., et al., C.A. No. 09-971-LPS-CJB, Judge Burke denied plaintiff’s motion to substitute two parties, but ruled that the two proposed parties be joined as plaintiffs in the action. Id. at 1. On the one hand, the original plaintiff argued that because it had sold “certain assets and technology”

Motion for Jurisdictional Discovery Granted: Foreign Parent and the Stream-of-Commerce Theory

In Eastman Chemical Co. v. Alphapet Inc., et al., C.A. No. 09-971-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Nov. 18, 2011), the plaintiff offered three arguments in support of its motion for jurisdictional discovery to determine whether the Court could exercise personal jurisdiction over a Thai parent company defendant. Judge Burke first rejected the notion that the Thai parent

Rule 8 and “Fair Notice” under Twombly/Iqbal: Motion to Dismiss Breach of Contract and Trade Secret Misappropriation Claims GRANTED-IN-PART

In Eastman Chemical Co. v. Alphapet Inc., et al., C.A. No. 09-971-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Nov. 10, 2011), Judge Burke granted-in-part the defendants’ motion to dismiss claims for breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation. The plaintiff filed an amended complaint against the defendants for patent infringement, breach of contract and trade secret misappropriation. Id. at

New Standing Order Regarding Utilization of Magistrate Judges

On November 3, 2011 the District of Delaware judges signed an Order Relating to Utilization of Magistrate Judges. Among other things, the Order kicked off a one year Pilot Project “to evaluate Magistrate Judge utilization.” As part of the Pilot Project, the Clerk of the Court will randomly assign cases to Magistrate Judges. These matters

Magistrate Judge Burke: Motion for Leave to Take Expedited Discovery Granted-in-Part

In Kone Corp. v. Thyssenkrupp USA, Inc., C.A. No. 11-465-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Sept. 26, 2011), Magistrate Judge Burke granted-in-part the plaintiff’s motion for expedited discovery in connection with the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Judge Burke stated that the appropriate test for evaluating a request for expedited discovery in the context of a preliminary