Plexxikon Inc. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:17-cv-04405
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Plexxikon v. Novartis, Judge Gilliam directed the parties to revise the verdict form and submit complete expert reports before trial.
Plexxikon Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and their counsel, who were directed to confer and submit revised trial materials and expert reports.
What happened
In Plexxikon Inc. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the court reviewed the parties’ proposed verdict forms. It decided that the jury should use a special form addressing each invalidity theory separately.
The court also said the jury would be asked what amount would fairly and reasonably compensate Plexxikon for infringement to date. It directed the parties to meet and discuss whether they could agree on a revised verdict form.
Judge Gilliam ordered the parties to submit any revised verdict form and complete, unredacted copies of all expert reports by July 6, 2021, at noon Pacific time.
The detailed version
- Plexxikon Inc. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation · No. 4:17-cv-04405
- Haywood Gilliam
- July 2, 2021
Background
The court considered the parties’ proposed verdict forms and addressed how the upcoming jury trial should be organized. The dispute involves Plexxikon’s infringement claims and Novartis’s invalidity theories, but this order does not decide those issues.
Rulings and directions
The court determined that a special verdict form breaking down each invalidity theory was appropriate and consistent with Federal Circuit guidance. A special verdict form asks the jury to provide separate answers on particular issues rather than only returning a general verdict.
For damages, the court stated that it intended to ask the jury to determine what sum of money would fairly and reasonably compensate Plexxikon for infringement through the date of trial, as proposed by Plexxikon. The court directed the parties to meet and confer about whether they could agree on the special verdict form and ordered them to submit any revised proposed form by July 6, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time.
The court also directed the parties to meet and confer and email one complete, unredacted set of all expert reports, copying all counsel, to the court’s designated email address by the same deadline.
Effect of the order
This was a case-management order about the verdict form and expert reports. It did not enter judgment or decide the parties’ underlying infringement, invalidity, or damages claims. Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. signed the order on July 2, 2021.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.