`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`TYLER DIVISION
`
`C.A. No. 6:12-cv-799-LED
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`§§
`
`§
`
`§§
`
`§
`
`§§
`
`§
`
`§§
`
`§§
`
`§
`
`§§
`
`§§
`
`§
`
`INVENSYS SYSTEMS, INC.,
`
`v.
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`EMERSON ELECTRIC CO. and
`MICRO MOTION INC., USA,
`
`and
`
`Defendants.
`
`MICRO MOTION INC., USA,
`
`v.
`
`Counterclaim-Plaintiff,
`
`INVENSYS SYSTEMS, INC.,
`
`Counterclaim-Defendant.
`
`INVENSYS SYSTEMS, INC.’S OPPOSED MOTION TO AMEND DOCKET CONTROL
`ORDER
`
`
`
`Case 6:12-cv-00799-JRG Document 182 Filed 07/14/14 Page 2 of 7 PageID #: 5364
`
`Plaintiff Invensys Systems, Inc. (“Invensys”) requests that the Court amend the Docket
`
`Control Order governing this case to move the expert deadlines back by approximately two
`
`months. This amendment is necessary because the parties have taken (and are still taking)
`
`numerous depositions, Invensys has a pending Motion to Compel and for Sanctions (“Motion to
`
`Compel”), ECF No. 167, and the Court has not yet issued its claim construction order.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`Over the past month the parties have taken approximately thirty-one depositions often
`
`with multiple depositions occurring on the same day. Approximately seventeen more
`
`depositions are scheduled over the next two weeks until virtually the last day of discovery.
`
`Transcripts of many of these depositions are still being prepared, and the parties and their experts
`
`will need additional time to review and assimilate this testimony in order to produce full and
`
`complete expert reports. Third-party documents must also be received and reviewed.
`
`On June 27, 2014, Invensys filed its sealed Motion to Compel against Defendants
`
`Emerson Electric Co. and Micro Motion, Inc. (collectively “Defendants”) seeking (among other
`
`things) production of sales information for all of the accused products and other information
`
`relevant to Invensys’s damages. Invensys also filed a Motion for Expedited Briefing, ECF No.
`
`168, which Defendants opposed.
`
`On July 1, 2014, the Court denied Invensys’s Motion for Expedited Briefing because
`
`“[w]ith over
`
`fifteen months remaining before trial
`
`in this case, expedited briefing is
`
`unnecessary.” Order at 1, ECF No. 175. The Court also stated that “[t]he parties are free to file
`
`the appropriate motion to amend the Docket Control Order.” Id. Briefing on Invensys’s Motion
`
`to Compel will not be complete until August 4, 2014.
`
`In addition, the Court held the Markman hearing on May 1, 2014. The parties disputed
`
`several claim terms and argued that numerous claims were indefinite. The Court has not yet
`
`entered a claim construction order.
`
`Under the current Docket Control Order, expert reports are due on August 8, 2014, only
`
`four days after the completion of briefing on Invensys’s Motion to Compel and only a few weeks
`
`1
`
`
`
`Case 6:12-cv-00799-JRG Document 182 Filed 07/14/14 Page 3 of 7 PageID #: 5365
`
`after the close of fact discovery. See 4th Am. Docket Control Order at 3, ECF No. 103. Rebuttal
`
`expert reports are due September 19, 2014, expert discovery closes October 17, 2014, and
`
`summary judgment and Daubert motions are due January 16, 2015. See id. Under the current
`
`schedule, the joint pretrial order is not due until July 31, 2015, almost five months after the
`
`completion of briefing on dispositive motions. See id. at 2.
`
`Invensys proposes the following amended deadlines:
`
`Dates
`04/13/15
`(current date
`2/13/15)
`
`03/16/15
`(current date
`1/16/15)
`
`1/22/15
`(current date
`11/15/14)
`12/19/14
`(current date
`10/17/14)
`11/19/14
`(current date
`09/19/14)
`10/03/14
`(current date
`8/08/14)
`
`Event
`Response to Dispositive Motions (including Daubert motions) due.
`Responses to dispositive motions filed prior
`to the dispositive motion
`deadline, including Daubert motions, shall be due in accordance with Local
`Rule CV-56 and Local Rule CV-7. Motions to extend page limits will only be
`granted in exceptional circumstances.
`Dispositive Motions due from all parties and any other motions that may
`require a hearing (including Daubert motions) due. 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.
`Deadline to File Letter Briefs for Summary Judgment Motions and
`Daubert Motions. See the Court’s website for further information.
`
`Expert Discovery Deadline.
`
`Parties designate rebuttal expert witnesses (non-construction issues), Rebuttal
`expert witness reports due. Refer to Local Rules for required information.
`
`Parties with burden of proof designate expert witnesses (non-construction
`issues). Expert witness reports due. Refer to Local Rules for required
`information.
`
`These amended deadlines will give the parties approximately two extra months to
`
`complete their expert reports, expert discovery, and to file dispositive motions. None of the
`
`other deadlines would need to be changed, and the parties and the Court would still have
`
`approximately three months between the completion of briefing on dispositive motions and the
`
`deadline to file the joint pretrial order.
`
`2
`
`
`
`Case 6:12-cv-00799-JRG Document 182 Filed 07/14/14 Page 4 of 7 PageID #: 5366
`
`STANDARD OF REVIEW
`
`Under Rule 16(b)(4), a party seeking to amend a docket control order must show “good
`
`cause.” In determining whether a party has met this standard, court’s typically consider four
`
`factors: 1) the explanation justifying the need for the amendment, 2) the importance of the
`
`amendment, 3) potential prejudice to the opposing party, and 4) the ability to mitigate any such
`
`prejudice. See Ciena Corp. v. Nortel Networks, Inc., 233 F.R.D. 493, 494 (E.D. Tex. 2006).
`
`ARGUMENT
`
`An amendment to the Docket Control Order is necessary because over the past month the
`
`parties have conducted (and are still conducting) depositions, Invensys has not received sales
`
`information for all of the accused products, and the Court has not yet
`
`issued its claim
`
`construction ruling. First, over the past month the parties have taken approximately thirty-one
`
`depositions. In fact, depositions are still being conducted, with seventeen additional depositions
`
`scheduled over the next two weeks, and will continue by agreement of the parties until a week to
`
`ten days after the last day of discovery on July 16. The current August 8 deadline for expert
`
`reports will not give the parties or their experts sufficient time to review and digest all of this
`
`evidence (especially in light of the amount of time it takes to obtain final deposition transcripts).
`
`The parties are also awaiting and must review third-party documents, which are being produced.
`
`Second, as discussed in Invensys’s Motion to Compel, at 9-11, Defendants have withheld
`
`important
`
`information that
`
`is highly relevant
`
`to Invensys’s damages,
`
`including such basic
`
`information as sales figures for all of the accused products. Even after it is produced, Invensys’s
`
`damages expert will need time to review this information before preparing his report. The Court
`
`has previously identified delays in receiving discovery as a valid reason for amending a docket
`
`control order. See Ciena, 233 F.R.D. at 494-95.
`
`Finally, the parties have disputed several claim terms and raised numerous indefiniteness
`
`arguments. The Court’s resolution of these disputes may well affect the experts’ analysis of
`
`infringement and validity as well as which claims are at issue.
`
`3
`
`
`
`Case 6:12-cv-00799-JRG Document 182 Filed 07/14/14 Page 5 of 7 PageID #: 5367
`
`Allowing an amendment now is important because it will allow the experts to prepare
`
`their reports on a complete record and obviate the need to amend expert reports later.
`
`In
`
`addition, if the Court concludes that some of the asserted claims are indefinite, the experts will
`
`not have to address those claims in their reports. Keeping the current expert deadlines only
`
`increases the potential costs for both parties and the need for more motion practice.
`
`Amending the Docket Control Order will not prejudice Defendants. As the Court noted
`
`in its order denying Invensys’s Motion for Expedited Briefing, trial in this case is approximately
`
`fifteen months away. See Order at 1, ECF No. 175. The Court also invited the parties to seek an
`
`amendment of the Docket Control Order in light of Invensys’s pending Motion to Compel. See
`
`id. Moreover, Invensys’s proposed dates will not impact any of the pretrial deadlines or the trial
`
`date.
`
`Finally, even if extending the deadlines for expert discovery might somehow prejudice
`Defendants, there is plenty of time in the schedule to ameliorate any prejudice.1
`CONCLUSION
`
`For the foregoing reasons, Invensys respectfully requests that the Court amend the
`
`deadlines governing expert discovery, expert reports, and dispositive motions as proposed by
`
`Invensys.
`
`Dated: July 14, 2014
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`/s/ Claudia Wilson Frost
`Claudia Wilson Frost
`State Bar No. 21671300
`Jeffrey L. Johnson
`State Bar No. 24029638
`Dawn M. Jenkins
`State Bar No. 24074484
`DLA PIPER LLP
`1000 Louisiana, Suite 2800
`
`1 As the attached email between counsel regarding this matter makes plain, Invensys is willing
`to accommodate scheduling issues that may arise due to intervening holidays in the schedule.
`No other potential “prejudice” to Defendants has ever been identified. See Email from Claudia
`W. Frost, counsel for Invensys, to Linda Hansen, counsel for Defs. (July 14, 2014) (Ex. A).
`
`4
`
`
`
`Case 6:12-cv-00799-JRG Document 182 Filed 07/14/14 Page 6 of 7 PageID #: 5368
`
`Houston, TX 77002
`Telephone: 713.425.8400
`Facsimile: 713.425.8401
`Claudia.Frost@dlapiper.com
`Jeffrey.Johnson@dlapiper.com
`Dawn.Jenkins@dlapiper.com
`
`Nicholas G. Papastavros
`Daniel Rosenfeld
`DLA PIPER LLP
`33 Arch Street, 26th Floor
`Boston, MA 02110
`Telephone: 617.406.6000
`Facsimile: 617.406.6100
`Nick.Papastavros@dlapiper.com
`Daniel.Rosenfeld@dlapiper.com
`
`Todd S. Patterson
`DLA PIPER LLP
`401 Congress Ave., Suite 2500
`Austin, TX 78701-3799
`Telephone: 512.457.7017
`Facsimile: 512.721.2217
`todd.patterson@dlapiper.com
`
`ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF
`INVENSYS SYSTEMS, INC.
`
`CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
`
`I certify that on July 9, 2014, I met in person with Linda Hansen, counsel for Defendants,
`about the relief requested in this motion. I also conferred with Jeffrey Costakos, co-counsel for
`Defendants, and separately with Ms. Hansen again on the phone on July 11, 2014, at her request.
`I also exchanged emails with Ms. Hansen on July 13, 2014, and contacted her again by phone on
`July 14 at her request, left her a message and exchanged further email. We are unable to reach
`agreement.
`
`/s/ Claudia Wilson Frost
`Claudia Wilson Frost
`
`5
`
`
`
`Case 6:12-cv-00799-JRG Document 182 Filed 07/14/14 Page 7 of 7 PageID #: 5369
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`
`The undersigned certifies that on July 14, 2014, all counsel of record who are deemed to
`have consented to electronic service are being served with a copy of this document via the
`Court’s CM/ECF system per Local Rule CV-5(a)(3). Any other counsel of record will be served
`by facsimile transmission and/or first class mail.
`
`/s/ Claudia Wilson Frost
`Claudia Wilson Frost
`
`6