US District Court DNJ Docket Feed

Epitopix LLC v. Zoetis Inc. — Denies Motion to Amend Invalidity Contentions

The US District Court for the District of New Jersey issued a memorandum opinion and order in Epitopix, LLC d/b/a Vaxxinova US v. Zoetis Inc. (2:23-cv-02467) denying Zoetis's motion to amend its invalidity contentions. The court found that Zoetis failed to demonstrate good cause under Local Patent Rule 3.7 for adding new indefiniteness theories under 35 U.S.C. § 112 based on grammatical errors in Claims 21 and 22. The motion was served approximately three months after the Markman hearing and over a year after the original invalidity contentions were due, making it untimely. The denial restricts Zoetis's invalidity defenses to those previously disclosed, affecting trial preparation and litigation strategy in this SRP vaccine technology patent dispute.

NaQueen Unique Zaire v. James Brooks, et al. — Motions to Dismiss Granted

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted all motions to dismiss NaQueen Unique Zaire's second amended complaint in this foreclosure-related federal action. The court found that Plaintiff's claims challenging the state court foreclosure judgment were barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, which prevents federal district courts from reviewing state court judgments, and that her remaining allegations regarding post-eviction mistreatment failed to state a cognizable legal claim. Plaintiff had previously lost a related federal action on the same Rooker-Feldman grounds before Judge Martinotti, and was evicted from the property at 28 Laurel Avenue, Irvington, New Jersey on February 21, 2024.

Timothy Ryan v. R. Robinson - Bivens Claims Dismissed With Prejudice, FTCA Claims Dismissed Without Prejudice

Timothy Ryan, a federal prisoner at FCI Fort Dix, filed a civil action alleging BOP officials prohibited him from moving to a safer bunk, causing him to contract COVID-19, and that BOP failed to accommodate his food allergies and religious dietary needs. Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb granted Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in part, dismissing Plaintiff's Bivens claims with prejudice and FTCA claims without prejudice, while reserving the question of administrative exhaustion on Eighth Amendment equitable relief claims for findings of fact.