`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`MARSHALL DIVISION
`
`VARTA MICROBATTERY GMBH,
`Plaintiff,
`
`v.
`
`COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION
`
`Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00051-JRG
`LEAD CASE
`
`AMAZON.COM, INC.
`
`Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00052-JRG
`
`BEST BUY CO., INC., ET AL
`
`Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00054-JRG
`
`PEAG, LLC
`
`Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00071-JRG
`
`AUDIO PARTNERSHIP LLC, ET AL
`
`Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00138-JRG
`
`SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA,
`INC.
`
`Defendants.
`
`Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-00029-JRG
`
`DOCKET CONTROL ORDER
`
`In accordance with the scheduling conference held in this case, it is hereby ORDERED
`
`that the following schedule of deadlines is in effect until further order of this Court:
`
`Date
`
`Amended Date
`
`Deadline / Event
`
`June 7, 2021
`
`May 10, 2021
`
`*Jury Selection – 9:00 a.m. in Marshall, Texas.
`
`* If a juror questionnaire is to be used, an
`editable
`(in Microsoft Word
`format)
`questionnaire shall be jointly submitted to the
`Deputy Clerk in Charge by this date.1
`
`1 The Parties are referred to the Court’s Standing Order Regarding Use of Juror Questionnaires in Advance of Voir
`Dire.
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 1 of 7
`PEAG/Audio Partnership v. VARTA
`IPR2020-01212
`
`
`
`Case 2:20-cv-00051-JRG Document 54 Filed 06/11/20 Page 2 of 7 PageID #: 351
`
`May 3, 2021
`
`April 26, 2021
`
`April 26, 2021
`
`April 19, 2021
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`April 12, 2021
`
`April 19, 2021
`
`April 12, 2021
`
`April 19, 2021
`
`April 5, 2021
`
`April 14, 2021
`
`March 22, 2021 April 5, 2021
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Pretrial Conference – 9 a.m. in Marshall, Texas
`before Judge Rodney Gilstrap
`
`*Notify Court of Agreements Reached During
`Meet and Confer
`
`The parties are ordered to meet and confer on
`any outstanding objections or motions in limine.
`The parties shall advise the Court of any
`agreements reached no later than 1:00 p.m.
`three (3) business days before the pretrial
`conference.
`
`*File Joint Pretrial Order, Joint Proposed Jury
`Instructions, Joint Proposed Verdict Form,
`Responses to Motions in Limine, Updated
`Exhibit Lists, Updated Witness Lists, and
`Updated Deposition Designations
`
`*File Notice of Request for Daily Transcript or
`Real Time Reporting.
`
`If a daily transcript or real time reporting of
`court proceedings is requested for trial, the party
`or parties making said request shall file a notice
`with the Court and e-mail the Court Reporter,
`Shelly
`Holmes,
`at
`shelly_holmes@txed.uscourts.gov.
`
`File Motions in Limine
`
`The parties shall limit their motions in limine to
`issues that if improperly introduced at trial
`would be so prejudicial that the Court could not
`alleviate the prejudice by giving appropriate
`instructions to the jury.
`
`Serve Objections
`Disclosures
`
`to Rebuttal Pretrial
`
`Serve Objections to Pretrial Disclosures; and
`Serve Rebuttal Pretrial Disclosures
`
`(Witness List,
`Serve Pretrial Disclosures
`Deposition Designations, and Exhibit List) by
`the Party with the Burden of Proof
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 2 of 7
`
`
`
`Case 2:20-cv-00051-JRG Document 54 Filed 06/11/20 Page 3 of 7 PageID #: 352
`
`March 15, 2021 March 29, 2021
`
`March 1, 2021 March 15, 2021
`
`*Response to Dispositive Motions (including
`Daubert Motions). Responses to dispositive
`motions that were filed prior to the dispositive
`motion deadline, including Daubert Motions,
`shall be due in accordance with Local Rule CV-
`7(e), not to exceed the deadline as set forth in
`this Docket Control Order.2 Motions for
`Summary Judgment shall comply with Local
`Rule CV-56.
`
`*File Motions to Strike Expert Testimony
`(including
`Motions)
`Daubert
`
`No motion to strike expert testimony (including
`a Daubert motion) may be filed after this date
`without leave of the Court.
`
`March 1, 2021 March 15, 2021
`
`*File Dispositive Motions
`
`No dispositive motion may be filed after this
`date without leave of the Court.
`
`Motions shall comply with Local Rule CV-56
`and Local Rule CV-7. Motions to extend page
`limits will only be granted in exceptional
`circumstances. Exceptional
`circumstances
`require more than agreement among the parties.
`
`February 22,
`2021
`
`February 8,
`2021
`
`January 19,
`2021
`
`February 5,
`2021
`
`January 19,
`2021
`
`March 12, 2021
`
`Deadline to Complete Expert Discovery
`
`February 26, 2021
`
`February 12, 2021
`
`January 29, 2021
`
`Serve Disclosures
`Witnesses
`
`for Rebuttal Expert
`
`Serve Disclosures for Expert Witnesses by the
`Party with the Burden of Proof
`
`Comply with P.R. 3-7 (Opinion of Counsel
`Defenses)
`
`Deadline to Complete Fact Discovery and File
`Motions to Compel Discovery
`
`2 The parties are directed to Local Rule CV-7(d), which provides in part that “[a] party’s failure to oppose a motion
`in the manner prescribed herein creates a presumption that the party does not controvert the facts set out by movant
`and has no evidence to offer in opposition to the motion.” If the deadline under Local Rule CV 7(e) exceeds the
`deadline for Response to Dispositive Motions, the deadline for Response to Dispositive Motions controls.
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 3 of 7
`
`
`
`Case 2:20-cv-00051-JRG Document 54 Filed 06/11/20 Page 4 of 7 PageID #: 353
`
`January 15,
`2021
`
`January 4, 2021
`
`December 28,
`2020
`
`December 18,
`2020
`
`December 4,
`2020
`
`December 4,
`2020
`
`November 20,
`2020
`
`November 13,
`2020
`
`October 30,
`2020
`
`October 23,
`2020
`
`October 2, 2020
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`*Claim Construction Hearing – 9 a.m. in
`Marshall, Texas before Judge Rodney Gilstrap.
`
`*Comply with P.R. 4-5(d) (Joint Claim
`Construction Chart)
`
`*Comply with P.R. 4-5(c) (Reply Claim
`Construction Brief)
`
`Comply with P.R. 4-5(b) (Responsive Claim
`Construction Brief)
`
`Comply with P.R. 4-5(a) (Opening Claim
`Construction Brief) and Submit Technical
`Tutorials (if any)
`
`Good cause must be shown to submit technical
`tutorials after the deadline to comply with P.R.
`4-5(a).
`
`Deadline to Substantially Complete Document
`Production and Exchange Privilege Logs
`
`Counsel are expected to make good faith efforts
`to produce all required documents as soon as
`they are available and not wait until the
`substantial completion deadline.
`
`Comply with P.R. 4-4 (Deadline to Complete
`Claim Construction Discovery)
`
`File Response to Amended Pleadings
`
`*File Amended Pleadings
`
`It is not necessary to seek leave of Court to
`amend pleadings prior to this deadline unless
`the amendment seeks to assert additional
`patents.
`
`Comply with P.R. 4-3
`Construction Statement)
`
`(Joint Claim
`
`Comply with P.R. 4-2 (Exchange Preliminary
`Claim Constructions)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 4 of 7
`
`
`
`Case 2:20-cv-00051-JRG Document 54 Filed 06/11/20 Page 5 of 7 PageID #: 354
`
`September 11,
`2020
`
`June 29, 2020
`
`June 29, 2020
`
`July 10, 2020
`
`June 8, 2020
`
`June 1, 2020
`
`May 26, 2020
`
`May 4, 2020
`
`Comply with
`Claim Terms)
`
`P.R. 4-1 (Exchange Proposed
`
`Comply with Standing Order Regarding
`Subject-Matter Eligibility Contentions3
`
`Comply with
`Contentions)
`
`P.R. 3-3 & 3-4 (Invalidity
`
`*File Proposed Protective Order and Comply
`with Paragraphs 1 & 3 of the Discovery Order
`(Initial and Additional Disclosures)
`
`The Proposed Protective Order shall be filed as
`a separate motion with the caption indicating
`whether or not the proposed order is opposed in
`any part.
`
`*File Proposed Docket Control Order and
`Proposed Discovery Order
`
`The Proposed Docket Control Order and
`Proposed Discovery Order shall be filed as
`separate motions with the caption indicating
`whether or not the proposed order is opposed in
`any part.
`
`Join Additional Parties
`
`Comply with P.R. 3-1 & 3-2 (Infringement
`Contentions)
`
`Mediation: While certain cases may benefit from mediation, such may not be
`appropriate for every case. The Court finds that the Parties are best suited to evaluate whether
`mediation will benefit the case after the issuance of the Court’s claim construction order.
`Accordingly, the Court ORDERS the Parties to file a Joint Notice indicating whether the case
`should be referred for mediation within fourteen days of the issuance of the Court’s claim
`construction order. As a part of such Joint Notice, the Parties should indicate whether they
`have a mutually agreeable mediator for the Court to consider. If the Parties disagree about
`whether mediation is appropriate, the Parties should set forth a brief statement of their
`competing positions in the Joint Notice.
`
`Summary Judgment Motions, Motion to Strike Expert Testimony, and Daubert
`Motions: For each motion, the moving party shall provide the Court with two (2) hard copies of
`the
`
`3 http://www.txed.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/judgeFiles/EDTX%20Standing%20Order%20Re%20Subject%20
`Matter%20Eligibility%20Contentions%20.pdf [https://perma.cc/RQN2-YU5P]
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 5 of 7
`
`
`
`Case 2:20-cv-00051-JRG Document 54 Filed 06/11/20 Page 6 of 7 PageID #: 355
`
`completed briefing (opening motion, response, reply, and if applicable, sur-reply), excluding
`exhibits, in D-three-ring binders, appropriately tabbed. All documents shall be single-sided and
`must include the CM/ECF header. These copies shall be delivered to the Court within three (3)
`business days after briefing has completed. For expert-related motions, complete digital copies
`of the relevant expert report(s) and accompanying exhibits shall be submitted on a single flash
`drive to the Court. Complete digital copies of the expert report(s) shall be delivered to the Court
`no later than the dispositive motion deadline.
`
`Indefiniteness: In lieu of early motions for summary judgment, the parties are directed
`to include any arguments related to the issue of indefiniteness in their Markman briefing, subject
`to the local rules’ normal page limits.
`
`Lead Counsel: The Parties are directed to Local Rule CV-11(a)(1), which provides that
`“[o]n the first appearance through counsel, each party shall designate a lead attorney on the
`pleadings or otherwise.” Additionally, once designated, a party’s lead attorney may only be
`changed by the filing of a Motion to Change Lead Counsel and thereafter obtaining from the
`Court an Order granting leave to designate different lead counsel.
`
`Motions for Continuance: The following excuses will not warrant a continuance nor
`justify a failure to comply with the discovery deadline:
`
`(a)
`
`(b)
`
`(c)
`
`The fact that there are motions for summary judgment or motions to dismiss pending;
`
`The fact that one or more of the attorneys is set for trial in another court on the same day,
`unless the other setting was made prior to the date of this order or was made as a special
`provision for the parties in the other case;
`
`The failure to complete discovery prior to trial, unless the parties can demonstrate that it
`was impossible to complete discovery despite their good faith effort to do so.
`
`Amendments to Docket Control Order: Any motion to alter any date on the DCO shall
`take the form of a motion to amend the DCO. The motion to amend the DCO shall include a
`proposed order that lists all of the remaining dates in one column (as above) and the proposed
`changes to each date in an additional adjacent column (if there is no change for a date the
`proposed date column should remain blank or indicate that it is unchanged). In other words, the
`DCO in the proposed order should be complete such that one can clearly see all the remaining
`deadlines and the changes, if any, to those deadlines, rather than needing to also refer to an
`earlier version of the DCO.
`
`Proposed Docket Control Order: The Parties’ Proposed DCO should also follow the
`format described above under “Amendments to the Docket Control Order (‘DCO’).”
`
`Joint Pretrial Order: In the contentions of the Parties included in the Joint Pretrial
`Order, the Plaintiff shall specify all allegedly infringed claims that will be asserted at trial. The
`Plaintiff shall also specify the nature of each theory of infringement, including under which
`subsections of 35 U.S.C. § 271 it alleges infringement, and whether the Plaintiff alleges divided
`infringement or infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. Each Defendant shall indicate
`the nature of each theory of invalidity, including invalidity for anticipation, obviousness,
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 6 of 7
`
`
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`Case 2:20-cv-00051-JRG Document 54 Filed 06/11/20 Page 7 of 7 PageID #: 356
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`subject-matter eligibility, written description, enablement, or any other basis for invalidity. The
`Defendant shall also specify each prior art reference or combination of references upon which
`the Defendant shall rely at trial, with respect to each theory of invalidity. The contentions of the
`Parties may not be amended, supplemented, or dropped without leave of the Court based upon a
`showing of good cause.
`
`.
`
`____________________________________
`RODNEY GILSTRAP
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
`
`So ORDERED and SIGNED this 11th day of June, 2020.
`
`VARTA Ex. 2004 Page 7 of 7
`
`