Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-01664/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-01664-16/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 830
Nature of Suit: Patent
Cause of Action: 35:145 Patent Infringement

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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C-07-2769 REFERRAL RE RELATED CASE Page 1 of 3

 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

FRANK NEMIROFSKY,

Plaintiff,

v.

SEOK KI KIM,

Defendant.

________________________________/

No. C 07-2769 JL

REFERRAL AND BRIEFING ORDER 

Re Possible Related Case

(C-06-1664 JCS, STV Asia LTD. v. PRN

Corporation et al.)

This case was assigned to this Court at filing and all parties consented to this

Court’s jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §636(c) and Civil Local Rule 73. There are three

substantive motions on file in this case: Plaintiffs’ motion for extension of the temporary

protective order, Plaintiff’s ex parte application for leave to take early discovery, and

Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss Defendant’s counterclaim pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6). 

These motions relate to the disposition of the proceeds of the settlement of another

case in this district, C-06-1664 JCS, STV Asia LTD. v. PRN Corporation et al. Many of the

documents are filed under seal, due to the confidential nature of the settlement agreement.

That case settled at mediation and funds were deposited in a trust account. 

A disagreement arose over disposition of the funds and Frank Nemirofsky filed suit

in San Francisco Superior Court. The judge in that case, Judge Chan, entered a temporary

Case 3:06-cv-01664-JCS Document 176 Filed 07/10/07 Page 1 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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C-07-2769 REFERRAL RE RELATED CASE Page 2 of 3

protective order, freezing the funds at issue. Defendants then removed the Superior Court

case and now the parties are back in federal court. 

Frank Nemirofsky and Seok Ki Kim dispute whether Nemirofsky was a partner in

STV Asia at the time of what they refer to as the PRN litigation. They also dispute the

extent and value of Nemirofsky’s assistance with the litigation. The nature of the parties’

dispute leads this Court to consider whether a judge more familiar with the STV Asia v PRN

case might be more familiar with the context in which the dispute arose.

Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 3-12, whenever a Judge believes that a case pending

before that Judge is related to another case, the Judge may refer the case to the Judge

assigned to the earliest-filed case with a request that the Judge assigned to the earliestfiled case consider whether the cases are related. 

The definition of related cases is: 

3-12. Related Cases. 

(a) Definition of Related Cases. An action is related to another when: 

(1) The actions concern substantially the same parties, property,

transaction or event; and

(2) It appears likely that there will be an unduly burdensome

duplication of labor and expense or conflicting results if the cases

are conducted before different Judges.

The referring Judge shall file and send a copy of the referral to all parties to all

affected cases. The parties must file any response in opposition to or support of relating the

cases pursuant to Civil L.R. 3-12(d). Alternatively, a Judge may order the parties to file a

motion pursuant to Civil L.R. 3-12(b). 

In the case at bar, this Court hereby orders the parties to file simultaneous motions

before Magistrate Judge Spero in C-06-1664 JCS, STV Asia LTD. v. PRN Corporation et

al., pursuant to Civil Local Rule 3-12(b) regarding whether this case should be related to

the STV Asia case and whether all pending motions and any subsequent matters related to

the settlement of the STV Asia case should be decided by Magistrate Judge Spero. The

Case 3:06-cv-01664-JCS Document 176 Filed 07/10/07 Page 2 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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C-07-2769 REFERRAL RE RELATED CASE Page 3 of 3

parties shall file their briefs within twenty days of the e-filing of this order and file responses,

if any, within five days of receipt of the opening briefs.

The hearing set for July 25 on Plaintiff’s motion to extend the Temporary Protective

Order and the hearing set for August 8 on Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss Defendant’s

counterclaim are hereby vacated, pending a decision by Magistrate Judge Spero on

whether the cases are related.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: July 10, 2007 

__________________________________

 James Larson

 Chief Magistrate Judge

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Case 3:06-cv-01664-JCS Document 176 Filed 07/10/07 Page 3 of 3