Delaware Valley Floral Group, Inc. v. Shaw Rose Nets, LLC et al

Filing 57

ORDER granting 47 Motion to Strike Exhibits J, K, L and M in plaintiffs' statement of material facts in support of motion for summary judgment. Signed by Judge Adalberto Jordan on 9/22/08. (tp)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA MIAMI DIVISION CASE NO. 07-20199-CIV-JORDAN DELAWARE VALLEY FLORAL GROUP, INC. A New Jersey corporation f/k/a DELAWARE VALLEY WHOLESALE FLORIST, INC., et al., Plaintiffs vs. SHAW ROSE NETS, LLC ., a Florida limited liability company, and KENNETH P. SHAW, an individual, Defendants ____________________________________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

OR D ER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO STRIKE The plaintiffs have moved for summary judgment, asserting that the defendants' patent is invalid. With their statement of undisputed facts, they submitted Exhibits A through M. The defendants moved to strike Exhibits J through M because the documents are in Spanish and have not been translated. I agree. If a party submits documents in a foreign language, it is incumbent upon them to provide certified translations of such documents. See United States v. Rivera-Rosario, 300 F.3d 1, 7 n. 4 (1st Cir. 2002) (noting "the well-settled rule that parties are required to translate all foreign language documents into English"). See also Rivas-Montano v. United States, 2006 WL 1428507, at *1 (M.D. Fla. May 22, 2006) (citing numerous cases that declined to consider documents in a foreign language).1 The defendants' motion [D.E. 47] to strike Exhibits J, K, L and M attached to the plaintiffs' statement of material facts in support of their motion for summary judgment is therefore GRANTED.
DONE

and ORDERED in chambers in Miami, Florida, this 22nd day of September, 2008.

_______________________ Adalberto Jordan United States District Judge Copy to:
1

All counsel of record

Although I am fluent in Spanish and could review and read the documents, I cannot rely on my own reading o f the documents. See Rivera-Rosario, 300 F.3d at 5 ("It is clear, to the point of perfect transparency, that federal court p r o c e e d i n g s must be conducted in English.").