Comply With Discovery Orders or Suffer the Consequences

Posted on September 21, 2006 by R. David Donoghue
Ropak Corp. v. Plastican, Inc., No. 04 C 5422, 2006 WL 2385297 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 15, 2006) (Valdez, Mag. J.).

Magistrate Judge Valdez’s opinion ruled on plaintiff’s Rule 37 motion for sanctions based upon defendant’s repeated refusal to fully meet its discovery obligations in this patent infringement dispute. The opinion demonstrates an important point: a party must comply with a court’s discovery orders (even orders issued by the most reasonable and forgiving court, as here) or suffer the consequences.
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A Trademark Claim By Any Other Name is Still a Trademark Claim

Posted on September 3, 2006 by R. David Donoghue

Richmond v. National Inst. of Certified Estate Planners, No. 06 C 1032, 2006 WL 2375454 (N. D. Ill. Aug. 15, 2006) (Manning, J.).

This is a trademark action regarding defendants' use of the term "certified estate planner" ("CEP").  In addition to trademark claims, plaintiff also brought claims for civil conspiracy, conversion and trespass to chattel.  Plaintiff alleged that defendants' use of the CEP mark constituted conversion and trespass to chattel.  Plaintiff also alleged that the individual defendants engaged in civil conspiracy by taking the CEP mark for the benefit of NICEP and for their own individual uses.

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