Opinion
23-cv-00077-EMC
08-24-2023
META PLATFORMS, INC., Plaintiff, v. BRIGHT DATA LTD., Defendant.
ORDER RE CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT
Docket No. 125
EDWARD M. CHEN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
The parties have submitted a joint case management conference (“CMC”) statement. The Court hereby STRIKES the filing from the record and CONTINUES the CMC set for August 29, 2023, to September 19, 2023, at 2:30 p.m.
The Court has taken this action because the parties' CMC statement and related conduct are unacceptable. The CMC statement is entirely unhelpful. It almost forty pages in length. It is not a true joint filing, consisting of essentially two separate statements collated together. The statement covers a number of topics that are not appropriate for a CMC and reflects the lack of a good faith meet and confer. The statement does nothing to assist or advance litigation. Instead, it is a waste of the Court's time and ultimately the parties' time. It is also a waste of the clients' money and resources. To be clear, this is not good or effective advocacy. And unfortunately, this is reflective of how this case is being litigated, as apparently the parties are unable to meet and confer in good faith on basic matters such as CMCs and discovery disputes.
The parties shall file a new joint CMC statement by September 12, 2023. The Court expects the statement to be vastly rehauled.
Each party is also required to provide a copy of this order to its chief legal officer, chief executive officer, and chief financial officer. Each such officer is required to file a declaration by September 1, 2023, certifying that he or she has read the contents of this order and has met with litigation of counsel to ensure that (1) this conduct shall not be repeated in the future and (2) meet and confers shall hereinafter be conducted professionally, civilly, and reasonably. Both the parties and their counsel are forewarned that they risk being sanctioned, monetarily or otherwise, for failure to conduct themselves appropriately before the Court.
The Court underscores that it is not in the habit of taking measures such as the above. Unfortunately, how the parties and/or their counsel have conducted themselves to date warrants this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.