It takes a special kind of chutzpah, to tell the USDC Judge in a decade long, could-be tens of billions of dollars federal case -- between two of the largest multinational life sciences companies on Earth. . . that your personal schedule is too full, to allow any appearance before the Fall of 2023.
I am sympathetic to the privacy of medical matters, but this gent has been lead trial counsel for the German Merck for. . . going on. . . ten years. A decade. And only now, he needs to take a six month leave? [However, it is clear that the settlement talks are bogging down -- which is why the able USDC Judge entered a "get crackin' order", as we mentioned Monday.]
As a practical matter, it is likely true that the case won't make it onto the court's busy trial docket until 2025. . . but it is hard to see how this reply from counsel is reasonable. I won't name him -- but you may see it all, here -- and a bit
. . .As Your Honor knows, I am lead trial counsel for Merck KGaA and have led our team since the time this case was filed. The reason for the request is that I have scheduled to take a personal leave of absence from my firm for the period from June 5 to September 29 in order to attend to an important personal matter that I have been putting off for some time. I will not be working during this period.
I expect to return to the firm as of October 2, 2023. We respectfully request that the deadline for the proposed pretrial order be adjourned until at least October 16, 2023, to allow me time to review and comment on the proposed order after my return, and for the final pretrial conference to be scheduled for a subsequent date, at the Court’s convenience.
Given that Your Honor has advised the parties that a trial date is unlikely until 2025, we do not believe this adjournment will prejudice any of the parties. Indeed, given the voluminous record in this case, additional time to prepare the proposed pretrial order may be warranted. [US Merck] informed us that they do not consent to this request. They proposed that the pretrial conference be held earlier, but as a practical matter, that would not be possible given that I will be in Asia in connection with the International Trademark Association annual meeting in Singapore and associated travel and client meetings from May 12-31, and that I will be in Denver on business on June 1-2. Ms. Bannigan, along with many of the world’s leading trademark lawyers, also will be in Singapore for the INTA Annual Meeting in May, and thereafter she will be speaking at the Federal Judicial Center program on intellectual property law in Berkeley. Adding further difficulty to the proposed June 22nd deadline for the pretrial order, Ms. Bannigan will be on a long-scheduled family vacation from June 15-26. . . .
You get the drift: "we are too busy to comply with court orders, in a multi-billion dollar matter, that's been percolating for over a decade." Damn. It does mean settlement is still quite a ways off. Hilarious.
नमस्ते
No comments:
Post a Comment