Creative Glassware Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Lifestyle International LLC

Background

On August 19, 2022, Judge Louis Stanton referred the case to Magistrate Judge James L. Cott to conduct an inquest into damages. An inquest is a court process for determining the amount of damages after liability has otherwise been addressed. This order established the procedures and deadlines for that process; it did not determine the amount of damages.

Required Submissions

The court directed Creative Glassware Industrial Co., Ltd. to file any additional submissions concerning the damages inquest by September 6, 2022. The plaintiff also had to file proof that its submissions had been served on Lifestyle International LLC and include a copy of the order.

If the plaintiff sought attorney’s fees, its submission had to include contemporaneous time records identifying, for each attorney, the date of service, hours worked, and nature of the work. Counsel also had to provide an affidavit stating each attorney’s years of bar admission and hourly rate, charts concerning the requested fees when appropriate, and the legal basis for the fee request, including why the number of attorneys involved was entitled to fees. The plaintiff also had to provide documentary support for any requested costs.

Lifestyle International LLC was required to respond by September 20, 2022. The court would treat the matter as fully submitted on that date.

Hearing and Disposition

The court notified the parties that it might decide the damages inquest solely on their written submissions. A party seeking an evidentiary hearing had to explain why written submissions were insufficient and describe the witnesses and evidence that would be presented. Judge James L. Cott issued a scheduling order governing the damages inquest. The opinion does not state the eventual amount of damages, rule on attorney’s fees or costs, or decide the underlying claims.