Cordance Corp. v. Amazon.com, Inc.

631 F. Supp. 2d 477, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55359, 2009 WL 1871885
District Court, D. Delaware·Decided June 30, 2009·No. Civil Action No. 06-491-MPT·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

MARY PAT THYNGE, United States Magistrate Judge.

Amazon moves to strike portions1 of Reed’s Second Declaration submitted by Cordance as part of its opposition to Amazon’s motions for summary judgment.2 Amazon contends that striking the declara[479] tion is proper for two reasons: (1) Reed admitted at his deposition that he is not qualified to opine on the issues of validity and infringement and his declaration including opinions on those topics is merely a sham to avoid summary judgment, and (2) in his declaration, Reed does not rely on the court’s claim construction order when opining on the validity and infringement of the claims.

Federal Rule of Evidence 702 recites:

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

For expert testimony to be admissible, the proponent must show by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the expert is qualified; (2) the testimony is reliable; and (3) the testimony is relevant to the case.3

“A sham affidavit is a contradictory affidavit that indicates only that the affiant cannot maintain a consistent story or is willing to offer a statement solely for the purpose of defeating summary judgment.” 4

“[A] party may not create a material issue of fact to defeat summary judgment by filing an affidavit disputing his or her own sworn testimony without demonstrating a plausible explanation for the conflict.... When a party does not explain the contradiction between the subsequent affidavit and the prior deposition, the alleged factual issue in dispute can be perceived as a “sham,” thereby not creating an impediment to a grant of summary judgment based on the deposition.5

The doctrine does not apply where “the affiant was ‘understandably’ mistaken, confused, ... not in possession of all the facts during the previous deposition ... [or] offers a ‘satisfactory explanation’ for the conflict.”6

On December 15 and 16, 2008, Amazon deposed Reed, an inventor on each of Cor-dance’s patents-in-suit and Cordance’s 30(b)(6) witness. Amazon contends that during his deposition, Reed testified that he was not qualified to answer questions pertaining to infringement or validity of Cordance’s patents. In contrast, the Second Reed Declaration filed in opposition [480] to Amazon’s motions for summary judgment offers Reed’s opinions on those same topics. In light of Reed purportedly disclaiming qualification to opine on infringement and invalidity at his deposition, Amazon argues that the opinions on those topics set forth in Reed’s Second Declaration must be struck. Amazon also maintains that striking Reed’s declaration is appropriate under the “sham declaration” doctrine which precludes a witness from saying one thing in a deposition and something different in a summary judgment declaration. Alternatively, Amazon argues that even if Reed is qualified and his declaration testimony does not contradict his deposition testimony, there is no evidence that Reed reviewed and consistently applied the court’s claim construction in formulating his opinion. Amazon contends that Reed did not explicitly state that he reviewed the court’s claim construction order, or whether he applied it for purposes of his written description opinion or his invalidity analysis and, therefore, his declaration may be stricken due to these purported failures. During the pretrial conference, Amazon expanded its argument by opposing Reed from testifying at trial as an expert because Cor-dance failed to provide the required report under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B).

Cordance maintains that each of Amazon’s arguments is without merit. It contends that Reed’s technical expertise in the relevant art indisputably qualifies him to provide expert opinion concerning infringement, validity, and written description support. Cordance contends that, as the inventor on the patents in question, Reed is presumptively qualified, and that his fifteen years of experience in the industry further establish his qualifications.7 Cordance states that the “sham declaration” doctrine is not relevant because that doctrine only applies where a declaration in opposition to a summary judgment motion directly contradicts the declarant’s previous testimony. Cordance also insists that Reed’s declaration is consistent with his prior testimony and that Amazon has failed to identify any substantive contradiction.

Finally, Cordance contends Amazon’s argument that Reed’s declaration must be stricken because he did not state in his declaration that he applied the court’s claim constructions is both legally and factually incorrect. Cordance states that Reed expressly applied the court’s claim constructions in his declaration, but even if he had not, that failure would not be a basis for striking his declaration.

At the pretrial conference, Cordance represented that Reed would not be used at trial to testify regarding the “ultimate opinion” on infringement or invalidity.

Reed’s Reliance on the Court’s Claim Construction

The court first addresses Amazon’s alternative argument for striking Reed’s declaration. Amazon contends that, even if Reed is qualified and his declaration testimony did not contradict his deposition testimony, there is no evidence that Reed reviewed and consistently applied the court’s claim construction in formulating his opinion. Amazon contends that Reed did not explicitly state that he reviewed the court’s claim construction order, or whether he applied it for purposes of his written description opinion or his invalidity analysis. Amazon also avers that “there is no reference to the Court’s claim constructions in his declaration.”8

[481] The court notes that the cases cited by Amazon in its opening brief are for the proposition that opinions and/or testimony inconsistent with a court’s claim construction may be excluded. Amazon has not, however, directed the court to inconsistencies between Reed’s declaration and this court’s claim construction. Amazon did not cite any case law supporting the proposition that the absence of an explicit statement in Reed’s declaration that he applied the court’s claim construction requires that his declaration be stricken and that this court has noted that no such formality is required.9

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Cordance Corp. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 631 F. Supp. 2d 477, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55359, 2009 WL 1871885 (D. Del. 2009).

631 F. Supp. 2d 477 (Cordance Corp. v. Amazon.com, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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