Judge Stearns Refuses to Dismiss Defendant in S.D.N.Y. Case

In this S.D.N.Y. case (Judge Stearns of D. Mass. sitting by designation) Philips is suing a variety of defendants for selling unlicensed CDs in violation of certain license agreements and Philips’ rights in Patent No. 5,068,846.  One defendant moved to dismiss saying it is merely a holding company with no day-to-day operations or employees and therefore could not be liable for infringement or inducement to breach any contract.  Judge Stearns denied the motion finding that the facts as alleged in the complaint state a plausible entitled to relief under Twombly.

 

For the curious, the heavy docket of the S.D.N.Y. results in judges from other districts (including D. Mass.) assisting by designation.  This case has a particularly tortuous history when it comes to judges.  Upon filing (Jan. 2008) it was originally assigned to Judge Brieant who (on June 26, 2008) assigned it to Magistrate Judge Fox who then (two weeks later on July 10, 2008) gave notice to the parties that he was retiring.  On August 5, 2008 the case was reassigned to Judge Seibel who (on October 2, 2008) assigned it to Magistrate Judge Yanthis for discovery.  Then in Dec. 2008 it was assigned permanently to Judge Stearns of D. Mass. where it has remained.

 

You can follow the various docket entries here:

 

http://www.boliven.com/legal_proceeding/7:08-cv-00515-RGS?q

 

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. v. Entertainment Distribution Co. (USA) LLC, 08-04070-RGS (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 5, 2010)