Opinion
No. 00 Civ. 9399 (LTS) (KNF)
October 24, 2002
PRE-TRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER
A pre-trial conference was last held in this matter on October 24, 2002. The Court hereby makes the following provisions for scheduling and trial in this matter. To the extent copies of this Order were not distributed to all parties in open court, Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a copy of this Pre-Trial Scheduling Order on counsel for each other party and on each unrepresented party within ten (10) days from the date hereof, and a copy of this Pre-Trial Scheduling Order shall be served with any subsequent process that brings in additional parties. Proof of such service shall be filed promptly with the Court. This order supersedes any prior scheduling orders.
As used in this Pre-Trial Scheduling Order, the term "counsel" shall, in the case of an individual party who is proceeding Pro-se, mean such party.
1. Amendments to Pleadings, Additional Parties All applications to amend pleadings or amendments as of right shall be made, and any additional parties joined, by January 6, 2003.
2. Discovery a. All non-expert witness discovery in this matter with respect to liability issues (including claim construction and infringement) shall be completed by June 2, 2003. b. Plaintiff(s) (i.e., party with burden of proof on issue) shall make expert witness disclosures described in Rule 26(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with respect to liability issues no later than 60 days before the date set forth in paragraph 2.c. below. Defendant(s) (i.e., party that does not have burden of proof on issue) shall make such disclosures no later than 30 days before the date set forth in paragraph 2.c. below. Such disclosures shall be made in writing, signed and served, but shall not be filed with the Court. c. All expert witness discovery on liability shall be completed by August 29, 2003.
3. No Adjournment of Deadlines The deadlines set forth in this Pre-Trial Scheduling Order will not be adjourned except in the Court's discretion upon good cause as shown in a written application signed by both counsel and counsel's client and served upon all parties. "Good cause," as used in this paragraph, does not include circumstances within the control of counsel or the client.
4. Non-Compliance with This Order In the event that any party fails to comply with this Pre-Trial Scheduling Order, or is not prepared to go forward with trial on the date scheduled, the Court may impose sanction or take other action as appropriate. Such sanctions and action may include assessing costs and attorney's fees, precluding evidence or defenses, dismissing the action, granting judgment by default, and/or other appropriate penalties.
In particular, the parties are advised that the Court may, without further hearing, render judgment in favor of the adverse party if a party is not prepared to proceed to trial within two weeks of the scheduled final pre-trial conference date.
5. Other Matters The parties shall use their best efforts to coordinate efficiently their use of document requests and interrogatories, as well as their deposition examination efforts.
The parties shall begin promptly to meet with Judge Fox for settlement purposes.
The parties shall make discovery in accordance with the following provisions of the Patent Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ("NDCal Rules"): 3-1 (Plaintiff shall make disclosure by February 3, 2003), 3-2, 3-3 (each Defendant shall make disclosure by March 17, 2003), and 3-4. The following additional provisions of the NDCal Rules will also apply: 3-6, 3-7, 4-1 and 4-2.
An interim pretrial conference will be held on April 18, 2003 at 10:00 a.m.
The evidentiary hearing with respect to the pending jurisdictional and venue motions is adjourned to December 16, 2002 at 9:30 a.m. Witness lists and marked exhibits shall be exchanged five business days in advance of the hearing date.
IT IS SO ORDERED.