`Case 1:14-cv-05575-PAC Document 36 Filed 10/17/14 Page 1 of 3
`Case 1:14~cv~02759-PAC Document 34 Filed 10/10/14 Page 1 of 4
`
`Jakob B. Halpern
`(973) 622-8394
`jhalpern@saiber.com
`
`Sé‘iber
`
`M’TOBNEYS A1 LMN
`
`October 10, 2014
`
`yflflz/
`
`Hon. Paul A. Crotty
`
`W am. WflW/M I, at Wm M Ewan-v.—
`MML tax (ml/“MM My Lela/WW“?
`M
`t
`5 fl
`1
`MM CM“- £ Ar” 9 L 1‘ " “W
`_
`7
`Lind/WM G 10“ W (fa/44’ 3 J!
`M
`5 M
`A”
`
`United States District Judge
`United States Courthouse
`500 Pearl Street, Room 735
`
`New York, NY 10007
`
`flare" ” M MAJ”
`Re: Kowa Company, Ltd. er al. v Aurobz'ndo Pharma Limited et at, and related cases, l4-cv—
`2497—PAC, l4—cv-2647-PAC, 14-cv-2758, l4—cv-2759, l4-cv-2760—PAC, and l4-cv—5575—PAC.
`
`Dear Judge Crotty,
`
`Our firm, with Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik LLP, represents the Mylan Defendants
`
`in this matter. We submit the within letter brief on behalf of all Defendants in the related
`
`matters. This brief addresses the question of whether the Court must apply the Local Patent
`
`Rules, which reguire early disclosure of infringement/invalidity contentions, to this matter.1
`
`Argument: The Local Patent Rules Require An Early Exchange of Infringement and
`Invalidity Contentions.
`
`Effective April 8, 2013, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern
`
`Districts of New York adopted Local Patent Rules that “apply to patent infringement, validity
`
`and unenforceability actions and proceedings.” L. Pat. R. l. The Local Civil Rules also apply to
`
`patent actions and proceedings, “except to the extent they are inconsistent with [the] Local Patent
`
`Rules.” Id. Defendants submit that Local Patent Rule 1 confirms that the Local Patent Rules
`
`take precedence infer the Local Civil Rules if there is a perceived conflict between the two.
`
`1 For the convenience of the Court, Defendants sought to include a placeholder in the case
`schedule submitted today identifying those topics on which the Court had ordered letter briefing.
`Plaintiffs refused to include this. Thus, the non—inclusion of the issue in the proposed schedule
`should not be construed as a waiver by Defendants on the issue.
`
`
`
`Case 1:14-cv-05575-PAC Document 36 Filed 10/17/14 Page 2 of 3
`Case 1:14-cv-05575-PAC Document 36 Filed 10/17/14 Page 2 of 3
`Case 1:14—CV—O2759—PAC Document 34 Filed 10l10i14 Page 2 Did
`
`Hon. Paul A. Crotty, U.S.D.J.
`October 10, 2014L
`
`Local Patent Rules 6 and 7,
`
`in contrast
`
`to Local Civil Rule 33.3(c), require early
`
`disclosure of the parties” contentions regarding patent infringement and invalidity. Specifically,
`
`under Local Patent Rule 6, a party claiming patent infringement must serve a set of infringement
`
`contentions within 45 days after the initial scheduling conference “which identifies for each
`
`opposing party, each claim of each patent—in-suit that is allegedly infringed and each product or
`
`process of each Opposing party of which the party claiming infringement is aware that allegedly
`
`infringes each identified claim.” L. Pat. R. 6. Under Local Patent Rule 7, the opposing party
`
`must serve invalidity contentions within 45 days after service of such infringement contentions
`
`that “identify each item of prior art that the party contends allegedly anticipates or renders
`
`obvious each asserted claim, and any other grounds of invalidity, including any under 35 U.S.C.
`
`§ [01 or § [12= or unenforceability of any of the asserted claims.” L. Pat. R. 7. The parties haVe
`
`an ongoing duty to supplement their infringement and invalidity contentions pursuant to Fed. R
`
`Civ. P. 26(e). L. Pat. R. 9.
`
`This District has applied the schedule contemplated in the Local Patent Rules in other
`
`Hatch-Waxman litigation. See, e.g., Purdue Pharma LP. v. Amneal Pharm. LLC, iB—cv-03188-
`
`SHS, Order (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 20, 2013). Here: Plaintiffs received Notice Letters from each
`
`individual Defendant at least 45 days before filing the respective Complaints. Each individual
`
`Defendant’s Notice Letter identified non~infringement positions and included an Offer of
`
`Confidential Access that gave the Plaintiffs an opportunity to review each individual Defendant’s
`
`ANDA for
`
`the purpose of determining whether an infringement action was appropriate.
`
`Plaintiffs further had an obligation to satisfy Rule 11 prior to filing an infringement claim. We
`
`presume that Plaintiffs believe they had a good faith basis to bring suit; therefore, they cannot
`
`now complain that they will not have enough time to determine whether the Defendants”
`
`
`
`Case 1:14-cv-05575-PAC Document 36 Filed 10/17/14 Page 3 of 3
`Case 1:14-cv-05575-PAC Document 36 Filed 10/17/14 Page 3 of 3
`Case 1:14~cv—02759—PAC Document 34 Filed 10110/14 Page 3 of 4
`
`Hon. Paul A. Crotty, U.S.D.J.
`October 10, 2014
`
`respective ANDA products
`
`infringe the patents—in—suit before serving their
`
`infringement
`
`contentions.
`
`Contrary to Plaintiffs’ suggestion during the Rule 16 Conference, there is nothing about a
`
`Hatch-Waxman case that warrants a departure from the Local Rules. Rather, the expedited
`
`nature of a Hatch—Waxman case strongly favors a prompt and early disclosure of infringement
`
`and invalidity contentions so as to allow the parties to streamline discovery and focus on issues
`
`that are genuinely disputed.
`
`In accordance with these Local Patent Rules, Defendants’ proposed
`
`Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order, submitted On October 3, 2014, specified that
`
`“Plaintiffs must serve Disolosure of Asserted Claims and Preliminary Infringement Contentions”
`
`by December 5, 2014 (60 days after the October 6, 2014 initial scheduling conference), and that
`
`“Defendants must serve Preliminary InValidity Contentions” by January 16, 2014 (42 days after
`
`service of Plaintiffs’ Preliminary Infringement Contentions).
`
`Plaintiffs proposed simply that the parties should “[c]onform to local rules regarding
`
`contention interrogatories (LR. 33.3(c)).”
`
`Local Civil Rule 33.3(c), however,
`
`is clearly
`
`inconsistent with the early contention disclosure requirements of Local Patent Rules 6 and 7 and
`
`is, therefore, to that extent, inapplicable here. See L. Pat. R. 1.
`
`>16
`
`*
`
`2|:
`
`Accordingly, Defendants respectfully request that this Court order the following:
`
`The Local Patent Rules will apply to this case. Further, Plaintiffs shall serve their Local
`Patent Rule 6 Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Preliminary Infringement Contentions
`on or before December 5, 2014, and Defendants shall serve their Local Patent Rule 7
`Preliminary Invalidity Contentions on or before January 16, 2015.
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`fs Jakob B. Halpern
`
`Jakob B. Halpern
`
`3
`
`