Reliance on Past Rulings Weighs Against Reconsideration

The court denied plaintiffs' motion to reconsider an earlier order granting defendant's motion to strike opinions from plaintiffs' invalidity expert that were submitted in support of summary judgment briefing because of the substantial unfair prejudice to defendant. "This unfair prejudice goes beyond merely the time and expense of taking additional discovery regarding [the undisclosed reference] and supplementing [an expert's] rebuttal report. The court’s exclusion of [plaintiffs' expert's] testimony on the undisclosed invalidity theories has shaped the landscape of the case, on which both parties have relied in their preparations for trial. . . . For example, [defendant] argues that it made the strategic decision to dismiss certain infringement claims with prejudice to streamline the case in reliance on the court’s Ruling on Summary Judgment, including as regards to the [previously excluded] invalidity theories. . . . [A]ttorneys make deliberate decisions about trial strategy based on the court’s prior Rulings and the posture of the case at the time. . . . [T]o unwind the court’s prior Ruling at this stage in the case without also unwinding a number of decisions made since then would unfairly prejudice [defendant]."

Chapco, Inc. et al v. Woodway USA, Inc., 3-15-cv-01665 (CTD June 20, 2018, Order) (Hall, USDJ)