Opinion ID: 3066254
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Samsung’s Motion to Stay

Text: As an initial matter, Samsung disputes at what point the court should measure the stage of litigation for the purposes of the stay analysis. Samsung argues that, because its April 10, 2015, motion was a “renewed” motion to stay, the district court erred when it failed to consider May 2014—when Samsung filed its first motion to stay—as the relevant time for application of the 18 SMARTFLASH LLC v. APPLE INC. § 18(b)(1) factors. We disagree. Samsung’s April 2015 motion was wholly unrelated to its May 2014 motion; Samsung’s second motion to stay was based on entirely different CBM petitions. Accordingly, the relevant time to measure the stage of litigation in Samsung’s case is when Samsung filed its second motion to stay, not its first. See VirtualAgility, Inc., 759 F.3d at 1317. Even if April 2015 is the appropriate benchmark, Samsung submits that the district court’s analysis was flawed because it failed to properly consider the significant proceedings that remain in the case, including trial. Despite the trial court’s careful consideration of the factors involved and with due deference to the court’s right to exercise its discretion in the face of a stay request, we ultimately agree with Samsung. Using essentially the same reasoning that it applied to Apple, the district court concluded that all four stay factors weighed against granting Samsung’s motion to stay. We agree that much of our preceding analysis for Apple applies to Samsung. But the critical distinction between the Apple and Samsung cases is that Samsung has yet to go to trial. This fact affects the analysis of two of the four factors: simplification of the issues and reduction of the burden of litigation on the parties and on the court. While the district court is extremely familiar with the Apple case at this juncture, there are different claims at issue and different accused technology in the Samsung case. Oral Arg. at 30:18–31:24, available at http://oralarguments.cafc.uscourts.gov/default.aspx?fl=20 15-1707.mp3. Additionally, the Samsung case involves three co-defendants: Exedea, Inc.; the Samsung entities; and the HTC entities. The trial will involve fact witnesses from overseas and require the use of interpreters for some foreign witnesses. The additional complexities and cost of the Samsung trial counsel us to find that these two factors weigh in favor of a stay. SMARTFLASH LLC v. APPLE INC. 19 We recognize that, originally, the Samsung trial was set for trial at the same time as the Apple case, but was rescheduled in January 2015 to allow the parties to take advantage of the district court’s rulings following the Apple trial. Slip Op. at –93. Therefore, when Samsung filed its latest CBM petitions in September and October 2014, it was mere months away from its trial date. As it was with Apple, this delay is not irrelevant to the stay analysis. Ultimately, we do not believe either that fact or the overlap in the legal and evidentiary issues between the Apple and Samsung cases is enough to tip the scales in favor of a stay. Despite the substantial time and effort already spent in this case, the most burdensome task is yet to come. A determination from the PTAB that all the asserted claims are patent ineligible will spare the parties and the district court the expense of any further litigation, including a trial. See VirtualAgility, Inc., 759 F.3d at 1314 (finding that “where CBM review has been granted on all claims of the only patent at issue, the simplification factor weighs heavily in favor of [a] stay” and may “entirely eliminate” the burden of litigation). It is true, moreover, that our resolution of the Apple appeal may impact or streamline the issues to be decided in the Samsung case. Because the district court did not properly consider the significance of this fact in its analysis, we find that the district court abused its discretion when it denied Samsung’s motion to stay. And, on balance, we conclude that the totality of the factors weigh in favor of a stay.