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Law360 (December 14, 2020, 11:33 PM EST) -- A Delaware federal judge has agreed to hold a virtual bench trial in an infringement suit brought by the manufacturer for baby product company Joie against Evenflo Co. Inc. over adjustable child car seat patents after finding that a jury trial slated to begin Feb. 1 wasn't feasible.
Wonderland Switzerland AG and Evenflo informed the district court in a Dec. 9 letter that they had mutually agreed to convert the jury trial to a bench trial, but asked if it could be done remotely to "relieve some considerable COVID-related anxiety associated with an in-person proceeding."
Though the parties nonetheless agreed to proceed with an in-person bench trial, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews honored their request, holding in an order issued the same day that "the jury trial scheduled for February 1, 2021, is converted to a remote bench trial on that date."
The order came about a week after Judge Andrews asked the parties on Dec. 2 to confer and determine if they would agree to a bench trial, saying it would be more feasible than proceeding with a jury trial.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued guidance on Oct. 7 for restarting in-person jury trials, but Judge Andrews has since pushed back a trial date in at least one other case. In an Oct. 14 order, he postponed a November trial date to May 17, 2021, in a case brought by ChanBond LLC accusing Cox Communications of infringing high-speed networking patents.
Cox had requested a delay in July arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic poses too many health risks and challenges.
Wonderland Switzerland's December 2018 suit accuses Evenflo of infringing several patents covering its "Every Stage" car seat that adjusts as a child grows. The plaintiff asserts that Evenflo's "EveryStage" car seat series not only uses a nearly identical product name, but also infringes Wonderland's patented technology.
In a Dec. 1 joint statement, Wonderland told the court it had identified one trial witness residing in Taiwan who would be unable to travel to the U.S. for an in-person trial because of pandemic-related travel restrictions. Wonderland said it would prefer in-person testimony from that individual, but acquiesced to remote testimony if necessary. Evenflo said in the filing that none of its witnesses would be unable to travel to Delaware for live testimony.
The parties' dispute expanded in May when Wonderland filed a similar lawsuit against Evenflo with allegations that its EveryFit car seat series infringes three related patents covering features in several Graco adjustable child car seats.
Counsel for the parties did not immediately return a request for comment Monday afternoon.
The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,862,117; 8,087,725; and 8,123,294.
Wonderland is represented by Steven J. Balick and Andrew C. Mayo of Ashby & Geddes and Michael J. Songer of White & Case LLP.
Evenflo is represented by Jack B. Blumenfeld and Jeremy A. Tigan of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP and John M. Mueller of Baker & Hostetler LLP.
The case is Wonderland Switzerland AG v. Evenflo Co. Inc., case number 1:18-cv-01990, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
--Editing by Bruce Goldman.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
