Settlement Afoot? Merck Naming Fight Update: Scheduling Conference Once Again Delayed By Three Weeks, Now To October 7, 2016

As a general rule, based on years of experience, once the involved legal teams reach four consecutive continuances -- of what would be a routine hearing, if the parties were ardently angling to go to trial -- I would take this latest one as a highly-probable sign -- that serious settlement discussions are progressing.

[Back-story here -- it is the continual bumping of the dates -- from June, to July; from July to September; and now well into October -- that has me smelling settlement, and a long form global agreement -- on naming and advertising conventions, between these two wholly-unrelated behemoths.]

I could be wrong, but the thought is that no one really wants to waste the court's time -- and the clients' money, more importantly -- traveling and appearing, to set trial schedules, if a settlement may be soon reached. So, that's my bet -- from the overnight order, in the federal District Court of New Jersey, then:

. . . .Reset Hearings: The Scheduling Conference set for 9/14/2016 is adjourned to 10/7/2016 at 9:30 a.m. in Newark - Courtroom 2C before Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer. . . .

Onward. Gray; somewhat somber here.

नमस्ते