Orchid Biosciences, Inc. v. St. Louis University

198 F.R.D. 670, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5350, 2001 WL 128017
District Court, S.D. California·Decided January 11, 2001·No. No. CIV.00-CV-1558L(JFS)·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinion

ORDER DENYING IN PART AND GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR A PROTECTIVE ORDER DENYING, OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, LIMITING THE DISCOVERY OF PLAINTIFF

STIVEN, United States Magistrate Judge.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Defendant’s motion for a protective order denying, or, in the alternative, limiting the discovery of Plaintiff came on regularly for hearing on December 14, 2000, at 10:00 a.m., in Courtroom E of the above-entitled Court. The subject motion was filed on November 15, 2000. Plaintiff filed an opposition to Defendant’s motion on November 30, 2000. Defendant filed a reply on December 7, 2000. Attorney Michael J. Hickman appeared on behalf of Defendant. Attorney David M. Beckwith appeared on behalf of Plaintiff.

II.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Orchid Biosciences, Inc., is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Princeton, New Jersey. Defendant, St. Louis University, is a non-profit corporation with its offices and campuses in St. Louis, Missouri. Plaintiff filed the present action on August 3, 2000, seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, invalidity and non-enforceability of a patent held by Defendant which is identified as Patent No. 5,846,710 (the “ ’710 Patent”). The ’710 Patent describes a method for detection of genetic diseases and gene sequence variations by single nucleotide primer extension.

On September 13, 2000, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, or, in the alternative, to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. In support of its motion, Defendant submitted an affidavit of Dr. Robert O. Webster, Associate Provost for Research Administration at St. Louis University, which' purportedly identifies Defendant’s limited contacts with the state of [672] California and establishes that they are insufficient to warrant personal jurisdiction by this Court. This motion is presently scheduled to be heard by the Honorable M. James Lorenz, United States District Judge, on January 16, 2001.

Defendant filed a declaration of Dr. Webster on November 15, 2000, supplementing his previous affidavit, which far exceeds his initial affidavit in length, specificity and detail, and which not only attests to additional contacts with the state of California, but also contradicts information contained in his first affidavit.1

On or about October 2, 2000, Plaintiff served Defendant with a request for production of documents, and a notice of taking deposition of Defendant through its designated personnel.2 Defendant filed the instant motion seeking an order from this Court protecting or limiting the responses it must provide to Plaintiffs discovery requests.

III.

DISCUSSION

A. The Court Has Broad Discretion to Stay Discovery While a Dispositive Motion is Pending

The court has broad discretion to stay discovery in a ease while a dispositive motion is pending. Data Disc, Inc. v. Systems Technology Associates, Inc., 557 F.2d 1280 (9th Cir.1977) (“A court may permit discovery to aid in determining whether it has in person-am jurisdiction. In granting discovery, the trial court is vested with broad discretion and will not be reversed except upon the clearest showing that denial of discovery results in actual and substantial prejudice to the complaining litigant.” Id. at 1285 n. 1 (citation omitted)). See also Hachette Distribution, Inc. v. Hudson County News Co., Inc., 136 F.R.D. 356 (E.D.N.Y.1991) (“[T]he federal district courts have discretion to impose a stay of discovery pending the determination of dispositive motions by the issuance of a protective order.” Id. at 358.)

A case by case analysis is required, since the determination will necessarily be fact specific and will depend upon the particular circumstances and posture of the case at issue. Id. As more fully discussed below, since there is a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction pending, any discovery which seeks to reach the merits of this case would be unnecessary, costly and burdensome at this time. However, under the particular circumstances present here, a protective order staying all discovery is not warranted.

B. While a Dispositive Motion is Pending, the Court Should Allow Discovery Which Addresses Jurisdictional Issues

Defendant generally argues that the discovery sought by Plaintiff should be denied because (1) Plaintiff has failed to establish a prima facie ease of personal jurisdiction over the Defendant, (2) Dr. Webster’s affidavit establishes a lack of sufficient jurisdictional contacts between Defendant and the state of California, and (3) the discovery sought by Plaintiff, even if. allowed, would not establish personal jurisdiction over Defendant in California.

Courts are afforded a significant amount of leeway in deciding whether parties may conduct discovery relating to jurisdictional issues while a motion to dismiss is pending. “It is clear that the question of whether to allow discovery is generally within the discretion of the trial judge. However, where pertinent facts bearing on the question of jurisdiction are in dispute, discovery should be allowed.” America West Airlines, Inc. v. GPA Group, Ltd., 877 F.2d 793, 801 (9th Cir.1989) (citations omitted). See also Wells Fargo & Co. v. Wells Fargo Express [673] Co., 556 F.2d 406 (9th Cir.1977) (finding that “[discovery ... ‘should be granted where pertinent facts bearing on the question of jurisdiction are controverted ... or where a more satisfactory showing of the facts is necessary.’ ”) Id. at 430 n. 24 (citing Kilpatrick v. Texas & P. Ry., 72 F.Supp. 635, 638 (S.D.N.Y.1947)); Data Disc, 557 F.2d at 1285 n. 1 (same). Nevertheless, it is not an abuse of judicial discretion to deny discovery before dismissing on jurisdictional grounds “when it is clear that further discovery would not demonstrate facts sufficient to constitute a basis for jurisdiction.” Wells Fargo, 556 F.2d at 430 n. 24.

As stated above, Defendant contends that prior to obtaining even limited discovery, Plaintiff must establish a prima facie case, otherwise known as a colorable basis, of personal jurisdiction. According to Defendant, Plaintiff has not met this burden because it has failed to allege facts which show Defendant has the kind of contacts with this forum to support general or specific jurisdiction.

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Orchid Biosciences, Inc. v. St. Louis University, 198 F.R.D. 670, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5350, 2001 WL 128017 (S.D. Cal. 2001).

198 F.R.D. 670 (Orchid Biosciences, Inc. v. St. Louis University) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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