AbCellera Biologics Inc. v. Berkeley Lights, Inc.
- Jon Tigar
- 4:20-cv-08624
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In AbCellera Biologics v. Berkeley Lights, Judge Tigar kept a motion hearing scheduled because an amended complaint did not moot pending counterclaims.
The order affected AbCellera Biologics Inc.’s pending motion and Bruker Cellular Analysis’s second amended counterclaims; it did not decide the motion’s merits.
What happened
In AbCellera Biologics Inc. v. Berkeley Lights, Inc., AbCellera filed a motion asking the court to dismiss and strike certain defenses and counterclaims in Berkeley Lights’ answer and second amended counterclaims. The court had previously paused the motion while related patent review proceedings were pending, then lifted the pause on August 4, 2023.
AbCellera filed an amended complaint on October 20, 2023. The court explained that this did not make the counterclaims moot, so the counterclaims remained operative and AbCellera’s motion remained pending.
The court did not decide the motion. Judge Tigar ordered that the hearing scheduled for November 2, 2023, would remain on the calendar.
The detailed version
- AbCellera Biologics Inc. v. Berkeley Lights, Inc. · No. 4:20-cv-08624
- Jon Tigar
- Oct. 25, 2023
Background
The opinion concerns AbCellera’s motion to dismiss and strike certain affirmative defenses and counterclaims from the defendant’s answer and second amended counterclaims. The caption identifies the defendant as Bruker Cellular Analysis, formerly known as Berkeley Lights, Inc. The motion was filed on August 5, 2021, and was fully briefed by September 19, 2023.
The court had stayed the motion pending inter partes review, a patent-review process, and lifted that stay on August 4, 2023. The motion was scheduled for a hearing on November 2, 2023.
Amended Complaint and Counterclaims
AbCellera filed an amended complaint on October 20, 2023, within the deadline in the court’s scheduling order. The court stated that filing an amended complaint did not make the counterclaims filed with the original complaint moot. The defendant’s second amended counterclaims therefore remained operative, and AbCellera’s motion to dismiss remained pending.
Disposition
The court did not grant or deny the motion to dismiss and strike. Instead, it ordered that the November 2, 2023, motion hearing would remain on the calendar.
Judge
The order was signed by Jon S. Tigar, United States District Judge.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.