Masimo Corporation v. Sotera Wireless

District Court, S.D. California·Decided November 19, 2020·No. 3:19-cv-01100·Unknown

Opinion

MASIMO CORPORATION, Case No.: 19cv1100-BAS (NLS)

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S v. MOTION FOR ISSUANCE OF LETTER ROGATORY SOTERA WIRELESS; HON HAI

PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD., [ECF No. 87] Defendants.

Before the Court is Plaintiff Masimo Corporation’s motion for the Court to issue a letter rogatory to the judicial authority of Taiwan. ECF No. 87. Masimo seeks the letter to aid in obtaining deposition testimony from Francis Chen, who resides in Taipei, Taiwan, and was previously the CEO of Defendant Sotera Wireless and held other positions at Defendant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. Id. “A letter rogatory is a formal written request sent by a court to a foreign court asking that the testimony of a witness residing within that foreign court’s jurisdiction be taken pursuant to the direction of that foreign court and transmitted to the requesting court for use in a pending action.” Asis Internet Services v. Optin Global, Inc., 2007 WL 1880369, at *3 (N.D. Cal. June 29, 2007) (citing Marroquin-Manriquez v. I.N.S., 699 F.2d 129 (3rd Cir. 1983). The courts have inherent authority to issue letters rogatory. See United States v. Staples, 256 F.2d 290, 292 (9th Cir. 1958); Barnes and Noble, Inc. v. LSI Corp., 2012 WL 1808849, at *1 (N.D. Cal. May 17, 2012); Whether to issue such a letter is a matter of discretion for the court. See Asis Internet Services, 2007 WL 1880369, at *3. A court’s decision whether to issue a letter rogatory “requires an application of Rule 28(b) in light of the scope of discovery provided for by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” Id. Under Rule 28(b), a court will generally not weigh the evidence sought from the discovery request, nor will it attempt to predict whether that evidence will actually be obtained. Barnes and Noble, 2012 WL 19- 8849, at *2. The court should apply the general discovery principles set out in Rule 26. Id. “Courts routinely issue letters rogatory where the movant makes a reasonable showing that the evidence sought may be material, or may lead to the discovery of material evidence.” Viasat, Inc. v. Space Sys./loral, Inc., No. 12-CV-0260-H (WVG), 2013 WL 12061801, at *3 (S.D. Cal. Jan. 14, 2013). A party opposing the issuance of letters rogatory must show good cause for a court to deny the application. Id. Here, the request to obtain testimony from Mr. Chen is not opposed by Defendants. However, because Mr. Chen is no longer their employee, they cannot produce him for deposition. ECF No. 87-1 at 5. Plaintiff states that its counsel has attempted to independently request Mr. Chen voluntarily provide testimony, but has not been successful. Id.; ECF No. 87-2 at ¶ 3. Mr. Chen had a long history with both Defendant companies and will likely have testimony relevant to this lawsuit. Plaintiff only requests four topics for deposition: (1) the functionality and design of the accused ViSi® Mobile Monitoring System; (2) the sales and marketing of the accused ViSi® Mobile Monitoring System; (3) the general business operations and organization of Sotera Wireless, Inc.; and (4) the relationship between Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. and Sotera Wireless, Inc. including investments and support. Thus, on balance, the Court finds there is good cause to grant Plaintiff’s request to issue the letter rogatory. Accordingly, Plaintiff's Amended Motion for Issuance of Requests for International Judicial Assistance (Letters Rogatory) is GRANTED. The Court will issue the letter of request attached as Exhibit 1 to this order. The Clerk of the Court is directed || to apply the seal of the Court to Exhibit | and issue the letter rogatory. Dated: November 19, 2020 Mite. Lemme Hon. Nita L. Stormes United States Magistrate Judge

EXHIBIT 1

) MASIMO CORPORATION, a Case No. 3:19-cv-01100-BAS-NLS ) California corporation, )

) REQUEST FOR ) Plaintiff, INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL ) ASSISTANCE ) v. (LETTER ROGATORY) )

) SOTERA WIRELESS, INC., a ) California corporation, )

) HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY ) CO., LTD., a Taiwan corporation, ) ) Defendants. )

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