Rembrandt Gaming Technologies, LP v. Boyd Gaming Corporation et al
Filing
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ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that 192 Motion to Stay is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that 195 Motion for Entry of a Second Amended Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order is DENIED. Signed by Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr on 1/27/16. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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REMBRANDT GAMING TECHNOLOGIES, LP, )
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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BOYD GAMING CORP., et al.
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Defendants.
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__________________________________________)
Case No. 2:12-cv-00775-MMD-GWF
ORDER
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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Rembrandt Gaming Technologies, LP’s
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Emergency Motion for a Stay of Discovery (#192), filed on January 15, 2016. Defendants filed a
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Response (#194) to Plaintiff’s motion on January 19, 2016. Defendants also filed a Motion for
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Entry of a Second Amended Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order (#195) on January 19, 2016. The
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Court conducted a hearing in this matter on January 25, 2016.
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BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On December 22, 2015 Plaintiff filed a request for entry of final judgment (#186) in favor
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of the Defendants and based on the District Court’s November 24, 2015 order, Docket No. 185, in
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which the Court “adopted Defendants’ proposed construction of the claim term ‘designating a
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chosen number, from one to all, of said initial displayed symbols for replacement’ requiring player
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designation.” Request for Entry of Final Judgment (#186), pg. 2. Plaintiff stipulates that as a result
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of the Court’s order, it cannot prevail on its claim for patent infringement and that final judgment
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should therefore be entered in favor of Defendants. Plaintiff intends to appeal the judgment to the
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Federal Circuit. Defendants oppose Plaintiff’s request for final judgment, arguing that Defendants
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should have an opportunity to litigate their affirmative defenses that the patent is invalid and
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unenforceable so that the Federal Circuit can address all issues in the case in one appeal, and avoid
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the possibility of successive appeals if the District Court’s claim construction order is reversed.
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Plaintiff’s request for entry of final judgment has been fully briefed and is awaiting decision by the
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District Judge. In its instant motion, Plaintiff argues that the Court should stay discovery until the
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District Judge rules on its request for final judgment. Defendants oppose a stay of discovery for
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essentially the same reasons that they oppose entry of final judgment.
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In Multiform Desiccants, Inc. v. Medzam, Ltd., 133 F.3d 1473, 1481 (Fed.Cir. 1998), the
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district court found that defendant did not infringe the plaintiff’s patent and entered final judgment
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for defendant on that basis. The district court decided that it need not reach the issue of whether the
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patent was invalid. The Federal Circuit noted that “[t]he district court recognized that it could, in its
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discretion, decide this affirmative defense, but chose not to do so, citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(c).” In
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affirming the district court’s action, the Federal Circuit also noted the dispositive distinction
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between a situation in which an alleged infringer has asserted a counter-claim for declaratory relief
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that the patent is invalid versus the situation in which it only alleges an affirmative defense of
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invalidity. While the court may have a duty to decide the counterclaim, it is not required to
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adjudicate affirmative defenses not germane to the finding of non-infringement. Id., citing Cardinal
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Chem. Co. v. Morton Int’l, Inc., 508 U.S. 83, 113 S.Ct. 1967 (1993). The court nevertheless
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stressed the useful general rule that trial courts should decide all litigated issues in the interest of
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finality. Id., 133 F.3d at 1481, citing Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327,
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330, 65 S.Ct. 1143 (1945). The court stated that if it had reversed the judgment of non-
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infringement, “the issue of validity would have required remand and decision, perhaps followed by
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another appeal, and accompanying cost, delay and inefficiency. However, as this litigation has
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evolved, Medzam has no justiciable interest in validity. The case is over.” Id.
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Rembrandt points out that other district courts have declined to adjudicate an affirmative
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defense of invalidity once the court has made a finding of non-infringement. See Bally Techs., Inc.
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v. Business Intelligence Sys. Solutions, 2012 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 120344, at *33 (D.Nev. August 23,
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2012) and Wireless Ink Corp. v. Facebook, Inc., 969 F.Supp.2d 318, 338-39 (S.D.N.Y. 2013). The
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court in Wireless Ink went so far as to suggest that “a district court’s resolution of the invalidity
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issue after a finding of non-infringement constitutes unnecessary dicta, if not, in certain
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circumstances reversible error.”
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The bottom line is that it is within the discretion of the District Judge to either enter final
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judgment of non-infringement or defer final judgment until Defendants’ affirmative defenses are
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also adjudicated. The District Judge is in a better position than the undersigned to assess the factors
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militating in favor of or against entry of final judgment at this time. Given the somewhat unusual
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circumstances in which the proponent of the discovery stay seeks to have final judgment entered
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against it, the interest in the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of this action favors a stay
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of discovery until the Court decides Plaintiff’s Request for Entry of Final Judgment (#186). The
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issue before the Court is not complicated and there is no reason to anticipate a lengthy passage of
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time before the Court rules on Plaintiff’s request. Accordingly,
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Rembrandt Gaming Technologies, LP’s
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Emergency Motion for a Stay of Discovery (#192) is granted. Further discovery in this action is
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stayed pending the District Court’s decision on Plaintiff’s Request for Entry of Final Judgment
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(#186).
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion for Entry of a Second Amended
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Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order (#195) is denied, without prejudice, pending the decision on
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Plaintiff’s request for entry of final judgment.
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DATED this 27th day of January, 2016.
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______________________________________
GEORGE FOLEY, JR.
United States Magistrate Judge
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