Stryker Spine v. Spine Grp. of Wis., LLC

320 F. Supp. 3d 985
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedJune 11, 2018
DocketCase No. 14–cv–93–pp
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 320 F. Supp. 3d 985 (Stryker Spine v. Spine Grp. of Wis., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stryker Spine v. Spine Grp. of Wis., LLC, 320 F. Supp. 3d 985 (E.D. Wis. 2018).

Opinion

HON. PAMELA PEPPER, United States District Judge

I. Background

This case began with a complaint filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court on January 15, 2014, dkt. no. 1-1, and culminated in a five-day jury trial in federal court, with the jury returning a $2 million dollar verdict for the plaintiff on September 28, 2017, dkt. no. 337. The defendants timely filed a Rule 50(b) motion for a judgment as a matter of law or, in the alternative, a Rule 59 motion for new trial. Dkt. No. 344. After the plaintiff filed a brief opposing that motion, dkt. no. 354, the parties filed a stipulation, notifying the court that they had reached a settlement in principle and asking the court not to enter judgment on the jury's verdict, dkt. no. 355.

On February 19, 2018, the parties filed a "Stipulated Order of Dismissal With Prejudice," dkt. no. 357; the stipulation provided that the court would vacate "A. all prior rulings of the Court; B. all prior findings regarding damages, costs and fees; C. all prior rulings regarding summary judgment, motions in limine and evidentiary matters; and D. the September 15, 2017 jury verdict." Id. The stipulation also provided that the court "shall retain jurisdiction of this matter and the Parties to enforce the Confidential Settlement Agreement." Id. at 2.

A week later, on February 26, 2018, the court issued an order construing the stipulation as a motion for vacatur under Rule 60(b). Dkt. No. 358. The court's order recounted the case law regarding motions for vacatur, and concluded that

if, as the court believes, the parties require the court to grant their Rule 60(b)(6) motion in order to effectuate the settlement, it would be helpful to the court if they would provide it with information regarding the balance of equities in relation to the vacatur provision of the settlement.

Dkt. No. 358 at 7. The court also noted that, under Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 511 U.S. 375, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994), "the parties may wish to make clear in any supplement they file whether they wish the court to incorporate into any dismissal order either the terms of the settlement agreement or any specific term of the settlement agreement." Dkt. No. 358 at 8.

Six weeks after the court entered that order, the parties filed a brief in support of *988the motion for vacatur. Dkt. No. 359. In reviewing that brief, the court noted that the parties had asked the court to vacate "all prior rulings of the court"-apparently a request that the court vacate not only any substantive rulings, but any rulings on motions to seal and other procedural rulings. In an April 13, 2018 order, the court identified this issue and asked the parties to provide an additional submission detailing the specific court orders they wanted the court to vacate. Dkt. No. 360. The parties responded on April 24, 2018, asking that the court constrain the motion for vacatur to the following docket entries: Dkt. Nos. 39 (order denying motion to dismiss); 81 (order granting in part and denying in part motion to dismiss); 215 (order granting in part and denying in part motion for summary judgment); 242 (order granting in part and denying in part motion to reconsider summary judgment); 255 (order denying motion to compel); 274 (order denying sanction and granting motion to preclude expert); 324 (text-only order dismissing Great Lakes Spine Group, LLC as a defendant); 337 (jury verdict); 340 (minute order from final pretrial conference); 341 (order resolving motions in limine ); and 342 (minute entry denying defendants' post-trial motion), as well as three text-only orders entered on March 4, 2017.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Parties' Motion to Vacate

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) allows the court to relieve a party from a final judgment, order or proceeding "on motion and just terms," for "any other reason [than those identified in Rule 60(b)(1)-(5) ] that justifies relief." Now that the court has construed the parties' stipulation as a motion for vacatur, dkt. no. 358, the court must consider whether the parties have satisfied the "just terms" requirement of Rule 60(b).

As the court previously noted,

Rule 60(b)(6)"vests power in courts adequate to enable them to vacate judgments whenever such action is appropriate to accomplish justice." Klapprott v. U.S., 335 U.S. 601, 614-15[ 69 S.Ct. 384, 93 L.Ed. 1099] (1949). District courts have "great latitude" in deciding whether to vacate orders or judgments under Rule 60(b)(6). Bakery Machinery & Fabrication, Inc. v. Traditional Baking, Inc., 570 F.3d 845, 848 (7th Cir. 2009) (citing Swaim v. Moltan Co., 73 F.3d 711, 722 (7th Cir. 1996) ).
But Rule 60(b)(6)"is fundamentally equitable in nature." Ramirez v. United States, 799 F.3d 845, 851 (7th Cir. 2015) (citations omitted). In considering requests to vacate jury verdicts, or judgments, district courts have been "guided by the array of equitable factors of justice and hardship traditionally balanced by district courts in considering requests for Rule 60(b) relief," such as "the public interests in precedent, preclusion, and judicial economy and the circumstances, hardships, and interests of private parties." Mayes v. City of Hammond, Ind., 631 F.Supp.2d 1082, 1088 (N.D. Ind. 2008).

Dkt. No. 358 at 5.1

1. Public Interests-Precedent

The parties argue that a vacatur in this case will not destroy important precedent.

*989Dkt. No. 359 at 6.

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Bluebook (online)
320 F. Supp. 3d 985, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stryker-spine-v-spine-grp-of-wis-llc-wied-2018.