Buckeye Tree Lodge and Sequoia Village Inn, LLC v. Expedia, Inc. et al

Filing 223

ORDER SETTING HEARING. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 8/7/2020. (vclc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/7/2020)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

BUCKEYE TREE LODGE AND
SEQUOIA VILLAGE INN, LLC, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

Case No. 16-cv-04721-VC
ORDER SETTING HEARING

v.
EXPEDIA, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
Assuming the case can proceed on the merits, the Court will almost certainly conclude
that a bench trial is required because a genuine dispute exists regarding whether Expedia’s
messages, as applied to hotels whose rooms were not available on Expedia’s sites at all, violate
the Lanham Act. The Court does not need to hear argument on this question, nor will it hear
argument regarding Expedia’s Daubert motion.
However, the parties’ submissions raise additional questions about whether this case is
moot, and whether injunctive relief would be appropriate even if the case were not moot.
Relatedly, there are questions about whether the class should be decertified, or whether the class
definition should be further modified. The Court will hear oral argument on these questions on
Thursday, September 3, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. In addition to arguing the issues, the
parties should be prepared to discuss whether an evidentiary hearing is necessary to answer the
questions relating to mootness and class decertification, or whether any factual disputes

regarding these issues should be adjudicated as part of the bench trial.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 7, 2020
______________________________________
VINCE CHHABRIA
United States District Judge

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