ALJ Rogers Grants Motion To Compel Depositions In Certain Projectors with Controlled-Angle Optical Retarders (337-TA-815)
On June 28, 2012, ALJ Robert K. Rogers, Jr. issued the public version of Order No. 12 (dated May 9, 2012) in Certain Projectors with Controlled-Angle Optical Retarders, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-815). In the Order, ALJ Rogers granted Respondent Sony Corporation’s (“Sony”) motion to compel Complainants Compound Photonics U.S. Corporation and Compound Photonics Ltd. (collectively “Compound Photonics”) to schedule earlier depositions of Compound Photonics representatives and employees.
According to the Order, Sony sought to take the deposition of Complainant’s corporate representatives and ten employees, and the sole issue of the motion related to the timing of the deposition. Sony complained that it issued the deposition notices in March, but Complainant Compound Photonics proposed to schedule most of the depositions about two weeks prior to the July 27, 2012 deadline for the close of fact discovery, which Sony alleged was prejudicial. Compound Photonics responded it was unable to provide any witnesses during the entire month of May due to their devoting all of May to development projects making its “pico projector…available for demonstration by mid-2012.”
ALJ Rogers determined that since Complainants initiated this investigation, they “cannot unilaterally decide that the month of May is off-limits for depositions” due to certain development projects, and that they “cannot now delay discovery because” they are “too busy” working on these other projects. ALJ Rogers also stated that Compound Photonics offered no detailed declarations from its employees evidencing the time-sensitive nature of these development projects, and therefore, it could not delay discovery based on an “unsupported claim that its employees are too busy with other work.”
Based on the above, ALJ Rogers granted Sony’s motion to compel, and ordered the parties to meet and confer, and that the depositions shall be scheduled in May and June of 2012, such that all of them would be completed no later than June 15, 2012.
