Archives: Local Rules

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Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot No Longer Requires Answering Along With a Motion to Dismiss

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules
Effective December 1, 2018, the Northern District’s Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot (“MIDP”) no longer requires that a defendant answer along with filing a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 motion to dismiss, including fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim. For the first eighteen months of the MIDP – … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Forbids Magistrates From Awarding Monetary Sanctions

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules
First Classics, Inc. v. Jack Lake Prods., Inc., No. 17 C 1996, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jun. 1, 2017) (Cole, Mag. J.). Judge Cole granted plaintiff’s motion to cancel the parties’ agreed settlement conference, but denied plaintiff’s motion for monetary sanctions without prejudice to refile its motion with more detail. Because defendant refused to attend … Continue Reading

Attorney’s Fees Denied After Early §101 Invalidity Decision

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Damages, Local Rules
O2 Media, LLC v. Narrative Science Inc., No. 15 C 5129, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jan. 3, 2017) (Tharp, J.). Judge Tharp denied prevailing defendant Narrative Science’s 35 U.S.C. §285 motion to make exceptional and for attorney’s fees in this patent dispute after granting Narrative Science’s motion to dismiss which held plaintiff O2 Media’s patents … Continue Reading

Motion to Strike LR 56.1 Statement of Facts Denied as Moot

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules, Summary Judgment
Narkiewicz-Laine v. Doyle, No. 11 C 1826, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jun. 15, 2016) (Kapala, J.). Judge Kapala adopted the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation striking as moot defendants’ motion to strike plaintiff’s Local Rule 56.1 statement of facts. No party objected to the report and the Court’s review found no errors in the report. … Continue Reading

Court Appoints Counsel in IP Case

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules
Vogue Tyre & Rubber Co. v. Mendez, No. 14 C 5839, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Oct. 1, 2014) (Shadur, Sen. J.). Judge Shadur appointed defendant counsel from the N.D. Illinois trial bar with experience in IP cases, after finding that defendant’s In Forma Pauperis Application sufficiently showed defendant’s inability to pay counsel; that both parties … Continue Reading

Patent Cases Consolidated Over Objections

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules
Velocity Patent LLC v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, No. 13 C 8413, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Apr. 14, 2014) (Darrah, J.). Judge Darrah granted plaintiff Velocity Patent’s Local Rule 40.4 motion to consolidate patent cases against various corporate entities of Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Jaguar and Mercedes.  Audi objected to consolidation, while the other defendants did not … Continue Reading

Lack of Local Rule 56.1 Support Prevents Summary Judgment

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules, Summary Judgment
Panoramic Stock Images, Ltd. d/b/a Panoramic Images v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., No 12 C 10003, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Sep. 2, 2014) (Feinerman, J.). Judge Feinerman granted in part plaintiff Panoramic’s partial summary judgment motion and denied defendant Wiley’s partial summary judgment motion as to Panoramic’s fraud and contributory copyright infringement claims in … Continue Reading

Lady Gaga’s “Judas” Does Not Infringe Copyright

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules, Summary Judgment
Francescatti v. Germanotta p/k/a Lady Gaga, No. 11 C 5270, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. June 17, 2014) (Aspen, Sen. J.). Judge Aspen granted defendants’ Fed. R Civ. P. 56 motion for summary judgment because no reasonable trier of fact could find defendant Lady Gaga’s song “Judas” substantially similar to plaintiff’s song “Juda.” Local Rule 56.1 … Continue Reading

Preliminary Injunction Does Not Apply to Redesigns as Long as They are Not Colorable Imitations

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Claim Construction, Local Rules
Scholle Corp. v. Rapak LLC, No. 13 C 3976, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jul. 24, 2014) (Kendall, J.). Judge Kendall ruled on numerous motions filed after the Court granted a preliminary injunction in this patent case.  Of particular note, the Court held as follows: The Court granted defendant Rapak’s motion to construe more than five … Continue Reading

Final Invalidity Contentions May Not be Amended to Add Nautilus-Based Indefiniteness Claims

By R. David Donoghue on Posted in Local Rules
R-Boc Reps., Inc. v. Minemyer, No. 11 C 8433, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Cole, Mag. J.). Judge Cole denied plaintiff R-Boc’s motions to amend its Final Invalidity Contentions with an allegedly new theory regarding the phrase “approximately perpendicular” based upon the Supreme Court’s Nautilus indefiniteness decision and related motion for summary judgment of invalidity based … Continue Reading
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