California Natural Products v. Illinois Tool Works, Inc.

Filing 79

STIPULATION and ORDER 78 for continuance of Pretrial Schedule signed by Judge John A. Mendez on 4/30/2013. Expert Witnesses Disclosure is now due by 10/11/2013. Rebuttal Expert Disclosure shall be submitted by 11/8/2013. Mid-Litigation Statement to be filed by 11/1/2013. Closing deadline for Discovery is 12/6/2013. Dispositive Motions shall be filed by 12/20/2013 and Responses are due 1/15/2014. Final Pretrial Conference is NOW SET for 3/21/2014 at 11:00 and Jury Trial is RE-SCHEDULED for 4/28/2014 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 6 (JAM). (Marciel, M)

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Jeffrey W. Shopoff (Bar No. 46278)
Gregory S. Cavallo (Bar No. 173270)
Paul F. Kirsch (Bar No. 127446)
James M. Robinson (Bar No. 238063)
SHOPOFF CAVALLO & KIRSCH LLP
100 Pine Street, Suite 750
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
California Natural Products

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CALIFORNIA NATURAL PRODUCTS
(d/b/a POWER AUTOMATION SYSTEMS),
a California corporation,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.

CASE NO. 2:12-cv-0593-JAM-CKD
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO
CONTINUE TRIAL AND PRE-TRIAL
SCHEDULE

ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC. (d/b/a
HARTNESS INTERNATIONAL, INC.), a
Delaware corporation,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff California Natural Products and Defendant Illinois Tool Works, hereby stipulate and

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jointly request that the Court continue the current pre-trial and trial schedule to allow an additional 90-120

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days. Good cause for such a continuance is based on (1) change and expansion of scope of discovery

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since the time of the setting of this schedule; (2) delay in the initiation of trade secret discovery caused by

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disputed issues with the First Amended Complaint; (3) the need for document discovery and depositions

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in Spain; (4) the need to translate Spanish documents; (5) issues with confidentiality of various technology

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and financial information for both sides, and the time necessary to negotiate a comprehensive protective

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order; and (6) the parties’ belief that a short continuance will reduce discovery and other disputes, and

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facilitate the parties working together on discovery issues.
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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO
CONTINUE TRIAL AND PRETRIAL SCHEDULE
1512885

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The existing schedule, as established by the Court’s Order of August 28, 2012, was the result of

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the Joint Status Report filed by the parties on August 24, 2012. Although the increased scope of the

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action (from an advertising and patent case to an advertising and trade secret case) was already

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contemplated, plaintiff had not yet amended its complaint. As part of the proposed amendment, PAS

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sought to drop its patent claims in favor of trade secret claims, a change in theory defendants argued was

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impermissible. Unable to reach an agreement, plaintiff filed a motion for leave to amend the complaint

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on November 8, 2012. The Court’s impacted schedule didn’t allow that to be set for hearing until late

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January 2013. On December 28, 2012, defendants agreed to the amendment in order to avoid further

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delay, and plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint on January 10, 2013.

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Prior to this amendment, the claims of plaintiff’s complaint were based on defendants’ marketing

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practices and plaintiff’s patents for its warehousing automation system. The First Amended Complaint

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added trade secret claims and substantially broadened the scope of discovery beyond that contemplated in

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the original schedule. The technology discovery therefore did not start until February 2013, which was

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much later than anticipated by the August 28, 2012 schedule.

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Since January, the parties have been working together on the scope and pace of written discovery

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and the exchange of documents. Written discovery and document production is proceeding, but all

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parties need additional time to negotiate the terms of a multi-layer protective order, collect, organize and

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in many cases translate Spanish documents, schedule and conduct depositions in Spain, Illinois, and

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California, retain and work with expert consultants to understand the technological and engineering

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documents and otherwise prepare for dispositive motions and trial.

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To this end, the parties have cooperated in drafting a revised schedule for the Court’s

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consideration. This schedule adds approximately 90 days to the calendar but remains within the Court’s

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typical schedule.

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Event
Expert disclosure, including report

Current
Fri., June 14, 2013

Proposed
Fri., Oct. 11, 2013

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Rebuttal expert disclosure, including
report

Fri., June 21, 2013

Fri., Nov. 8, 2013

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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO
CONTINUE TRIAL AND PRETRIAL SCHEDULE
1512885

Fri., Aug. 2, 2013

Fri., Nov. 1, 2013

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Mid-litigation statement to the court
(status of all motions already filed and
likelihood of future motions)
Close of all fact and expert discovery

Fri., Aug. 16, 2013

Fri., Dec. 6, 2013

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Dispositive motions

Wed., Sept. 25, 2013

Fri., Dec. 20, 2013

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Dispositive motion responses

Wed., Oct. 9, 2013

Wed., Jan. 15, 2014

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Dispositive motion replies

Wed., Oct. 16, 2013

Wed., Jan. 29, 2014

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Hearing on dispositive motions

Wed., Oct. 23, 2013

Wed., Feb. 5, 2014

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Final pretrial conference

Fri., Dec. 13, 2013

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Trial

Mon., Jan. 27, 2014

Fri., Mar. 21, 2014 at
11:00 a.m.
Mon., April 28, 2014
at 9:00 a.m.

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Respectfully submitted,
DATED: April 30, 2013

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SHOPOFF CAVALLO & KIRSCH LLP
By

/s/ Gregory S. Cavallo
Gregory S. Cavallo
Attorneys for Plaintiff
CALIFORNIA NATURAL PRODUCTS
(d/b/a POWER AUTOMATION SYSTEMS)

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DATED: April 30, 2013

GRIPPO & ELDEN LLC
By

/s/ Lynn H. Murray______________________
Lynn H. Murray
Attorneys for Defendant
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC

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DATED: April 30, 2013

POOLE & SHAFFERY, LLP
By

/s/ David S. Poole ______________________
David S. Poole
Attorneys for Defendant
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC.

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ORDER

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: 4/30/2013

/s/ John A. Mendez___________
United States District Court Judge

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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO
CONTINUE TRIAL AND PRETRIAL SCHEDULE
1512885