On October 5, Judge Albright is set to preside over his first patent jury trial since taking the bench. MV3 Partners LLC v. Roku, Inc. is not only set to be Judge Albright’s first patent jury trial, but also the first jury trial in the Waco Division since the COVID-19 pandemic essentially halted all jury trials. The trial was supposed to occur in early summer but was continued multiple times due to the pandemic.
Judge Albright has exercised his discretion per the WDTX Seventh Supplemental Order (see previous post HERE) to resume jury trials in the Waco Division. In his Divisional Standing ...
As part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are now on the seventh supplemental order from Chief Judge Garcia regarding Court operations in WDTX during this strange time. The evolution of the Court's orders regarding COVID can all be accessed HERE.
Here are the highlights from the latest Order:
Trials Continued Through September 30, 2020:
All trials, both civil and criminal, bench and jury, currently set through September 30, 2020 are continued.
Discretion to Proceed With Jury Trials:
WDTX encompasses 68 different counties and the Court recognizes that the public health ...
Judge Albright has posted a revised Order Governing Proceedings (OGP) for Patent Cases under his Standing Orders. Here are the key changes to be aware of:
Discovery:
Venue and jurisdictional discovery permitted pre-Markman:
The Order previously stayed discovery until after the Markman hearing except for claim construction related discovery or exceptional circumstances. However, Judge Albright routinely permitted parties’ requests to conduct targeted venue and jurisdictional discovery in conjunction with such motions. As a result, these two categories of discovery are ...
Judge Albright has recently updated the Court's website to include examples of previous technology tutorials that he has found to be particularly helpful. These should provide an example for counsel looking to craft a tech tutorial in Judge Albright's Court in the future.
If presented well, tech tutorials can provide a very useful overview of the underlying technology to the court. If presented poorly, they can be a waste of time or even set a negative tone for the Markman that counsel probably wants to avoid. Although not required, Judge Albright’s standing order governing patent ...
As of March 24, 2020, Judge Albright has notified us via the patent work group that all of his civil hearings will still proceed by telephone (at least until May 1), unless he issues an Order on a specific case/hearing.
The Court is not anticipating using video or Webex at this time given the coordination and connectivity challenges those items can present. Depending on the reliability of the Court’s conference line, the Court may ask the parties to host the teleconferences and will contact the parties in advance should that occur. In addition, the Court will be providing instructions ...
We have received notice from Judge Albright that there will be no in person attendance at civil hearings in cases in his court until May 1. A General Order will likely issue in the coming days to commemorate this. We will keep everyone updated as the situation evolves.
As can be seen based on the number of Orders issuing from the Court each day, the Court is working very hard to not let the current uncertainty disrupt the progression of its pending cases.
Please stay safe and healthy everyone and #flattenthecurve
It has issued: The Waco Division's Standing Order Regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Court Proceedings (full text of the Order below).
At this uncertain time, we should all be mindful of the Court's desire to accommodate other counsel's and party's situations and remember to be courteous to each other as we all attempt to balance the importance of public health with our clients' needs. And please wash your hands!
The Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas just issued an Order Regarding Court Operations Under the Exigent Circumstances Created by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Of note: "All civil and criminal bench and jury trials scheduled to begin on any date from now through May 1, 2020, are continued, to a date to be reset by each presiding judge." (See below for entire text of the Order).
It is too early to tell how that will effect the calendar in the months to come, especially given the speedy trial clock attached to criminal trials which will put them at the forefront of the schedule. We will keep you ...
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With over 50 years of combined experience with federal court practice in the Western District, our team boasts former federal clerks and outstanding litigators with unrivaled experience in local federal litigation. Our contributors are all located in the Waco office of Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee. With an office just blocks from the Waco courthouse, we have our finger on the pulse of the emerging patent litigation practice in the Waco Division of the Western District, and we want to share that expertise with you.