Wechsler v. Macke International Trade, Inc.

221 F.R.D. 619, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14093, 2004 WL 1375518
District Court, C.D. California·Decided March 22, 2004·No. No. CV-00-00296CAS(BQRx)·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

SNYDER, District Judge.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Lawrence I. Wechsler is the inventor of a portable device for feeding animals, for which he owns U.S. Patent No. 5,636,592 (“the ’592 patent”), issued June 10, 1997. In this action, plaintiff alleges that defendant Macke International Trade, Inc. (“Macke”) and Anthony O’Rourke, Macke’s President and Secretary, have infringed the ’592 patent by importing, using, offering for sale, and selling in the United States, two different products, the “Handi-Drink” and the “Handi-Drink 4” products as well as inducing infringement of the ’592 patent. The Handi-Drink products are portable water dispensing and drinking devices for animals, with the Handi-Drink (“HD-1”) being the original device and the Handi-Drink 4 (“HD-4”) being a later, smaller model.

Plaintiff filed the original complaint in this action on July 19, 1999. Plaintiff subsequently filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on May 8, 2000, adding defendant Petsmart, Inc., and asserting claims against all defendants for infringement in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), and against O’Rourke and Macke for inducing infringement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(b).

Following a hearing in accordance with Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370,116 S.Ct. 1384,134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996), on March 23, 2001, the Court issued an Order Construing Patent on August 20, 2001. Subsequently, on October 30, 2001, the Court issued an Order Construing Additional Portions of Claims 1 and 18.

The Court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of the ’592 patent on February 13, 2002. The Federal Circuit reversed the Court’s grant of summary judgment of non-infringement with [620]*620respect to HD-1, and affirmed the Court’s grant of summary judgment of non-infringement with respect to HD-2 in an order dated January 29, 2003.

All claims against defendant Petsmart, Inc., and Petsmart Inc.’s counterclaim against plaintiff were dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a stipulation and order entered on July 7, 2003.

Defendants Macke and O’Rourke then moved for summary judgment of invalidity of the ’592 patent. On November 25, 2003, the Court denied defendants’ motion.

In an order dated February 26, 2004, the Court granted in part and denied part defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to O’Rourke. In particular, the Court granted defendants’ motion as to the O’Rourke’s liability pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(a) (patent infringement) and O’Rourke’s liability as an alter ego of defendant Macke pursuant to California law. The Court denied defendants’ motion as to O’Rourke’s liability pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) (inducing patent infringement).

Defendants filed a motion in limine regarding plaintiffs fact witness John R. Woods on March 4, 2004, and a motion in limine regarding plaintiffs expert witness Alan G. Goedde, Ph.D, on March 5, 2004. Those motions are presently before the Court.

II. DISCUSSION

(1) Defendants’ Motion in Limine Re: John R. Woods

Defendants argue that “[t]he first notification of any type ... that [p]laintiff intended to call John R. Woods (Woods’) as a trial witness was by a letter dated February 17, 2004,” in which plaintiffs counsel identified Woods as a trial witness. Mot. at 3, citing Declaration of Conrad R. Solum, Jr., Ex. C. Defendants further contend that they did not learn “of the extent of [Woods’] proposed testimony, or at least the part concerning a meeting with Mr. Richard Lyon, an attorney for [defendant Macke in 1997,” until plaintiff was served by defendants with a late-filed declaration by Woods on February 24, 2004, in connection with defendants’ pending summary judgment motion. Mot. at 3-4, citing Solum Deck, Ex. D (Plaintiffs Response to Defendants’ Expected Position ... in Connection with Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment Dismissing Anthony O’Rourke) and Ex. E (Declaration of John R. Woods).

Defendants contend that plaintiff “has failed to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in failing to identify John R. Woods as a trial witness until February 17, 2004, two months after discovery has closed and less than one week before the parties were required to file pretrial conference papers under Local Rule 16.” Mot. at 4. Defendants argue that plaintiff did not include Woods in plaintiffs initial disclosure of witnesses pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1), and that plaintiff failed to supplement the initial disclosure pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(3)(A) and 26(e)(1). Mot. at 5. Moreover, defendants assert that plaintiffs witness list served on February 23, 2004, “only lists Mr. Woods at the address and telephone number of [plaintiffs local counsel ... in total disregard of Rule 26(a)(3)(A),” and that plaintiff intends to “conceal Mr. Woods from [defendants until he is brought into court at the last possible moment, ‘Perry Mason style.’ ” Mot. at 5-6.

Defendants argue that as a result of plaintiffs failure to properly disclose Woods as a witness, pursuant to Fed. R.C.P. 37(c), “the appropriate sanction is the preclusion of [Woods] as a trial witness.” Mot. at 6, citing Derby v. Godfather’s Pizza, Inc., 45 F.3d 1212, 1214 (8th Cir.1995). Defendants contend that “Woods was not identified until February 17, 2004 ... and therefore there is no portion of [Woods’] proposed testimony that might be allowable.” Mot. at 6. Furthermore, defendants contend that there was no substantial justification for plaintiffs failure to properly disclose, because “[p]laintiff filed this lawsuit over 4 1/2 years ago and any investigation that recently identified the business arrangement between Mr. Woods and Defendant Macke or that located Mr. Woods could have been done at any time.” Mot. at 7. Defendants conclude that “[i]t would be neither ‘just,’ nor ‘inexpensive’ to now allow [Woods] to testify, even if the Court would reopen discovery to allow De[621]*621fendants to acquire documents from and take the deposition of [Woods] in the six weeks remaining before trial.” Id. Finally, defendants also seek “[sanctions in the form of the cost of bringing this motion.” Mot. at 8.

Plaintiff argues that he had substantial justification for failing to identify Woods as a witness earlier than February 17, 2004. In particular, plaintiff argues that he was “unaware of the full nature of the testimony which could be provided by John Woods in this matter,” since plaintiff was only first able to locate Woods on February 9, 2004. Opp. at 3. Plaintiff contends that “information pertaining to Mr. Woods was intentionally and consistently withheld by Defendants during discovery.”1 Opp. at 4.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Wechsler v. Macke International Trade, Inc., 221 F.R.D. 619, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14093, 2004 WL 1375518 (C.D. Cal. 2004).

221 F.R.D. 619 (Wechsler v. Macke International Trade, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Jarose v. County of Humboldt
N.D. California, 2023