Samesurf, Inc. v. Intuit, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Robert Steven Huie (author)
Analysis
The court considered a joint stipulation from the parties to defer the deadline for the prevailing party to file a motion for attorneys' fees and nontaxable costs until after the resolution of a pending appeal. The court granted the stipulation, extending the filing deadline to 28 days after the earliest of a Federal Circuit decision affirming the judgment, dismissal of the appeal, or expiration of the time to file a notice of appeal.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the joint stipulation to defer the deadline for a motion for attorneys' fees and nontaxable costs“In the interest of judicial economy, the Stipulated Motion is GRANTED.” | agree with court The court correctly applied its discretion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(2)(B) and the accompanying committee note, which permits extending the fee motion deadline until after the resolution of an appeal to promote judicial economy. The parties' stipulation is reasonable and consistent with Ninth Circuit practice. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and relies on the appropriate rule and committee note to justify the extension. It accurately reflects the parties' stipulation and the court's discretion to defer fee motions pending appeal.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SAMESURF, INC., Case No.: 22-cv-412-RSH-DDL 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 STIPULATION TO DEFER THE 14 v. DEADLINE FOR A MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND 15 NONTAXABLE COSTS PENDING 16 INTUIT, INC., APPEAL 17 Defendant. [ECF No. 349] 18 19 Before the Court is the Parties’ stipulated motion to defer the deadline for Intuit to 20 file any motion for attorneys’ fees and nontaxable costs pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil 21 Procedure 54(d)(2) and 35 U.S.C. § 285 until 28 days after resolution of any appeal. ECF 22 No. 349. 23 On May 28, 2026, the Court granted Intuit’s motion for summary judgment of 24 noninfringement. ECF No. 346. On the same date, the Clerk entered judgment in favor of 25 Intuit and against Samesurf, and the case was closed. ECF No. 347. As the prevailing party 26 in this action, Intuit may seek attorneys’ fees and nontaxable costs under Federal Rule of 27 Civil Procedure 54(d)(2) and 35 U.S.C § 285. According to the Stipulated Motion, 28 | ||Samesurf intends to file a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2 || Federal Circuit. ECF No. 349 at 1. 3 Under Rule 54(d)(2)(B), a claim for attorneys’ fees must be filed no later than 14 4 || days after the entry of judgment “[uJnless . . . a statute or a court order provides otherwise.” 5 R. Civ. P. 54(d)(2)(B)(i). At its discretion, in the interest of judicial economy, the 6 || Court “under subdivision (d)(2)(B) may effectively extend the period by permitting claims 7 || to be filed after resolution of the appeal.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 54 cmt. (1993 amend.). “Courts 8 || within the Ninth Circuit have routinely applied this committee note to claims for costs as 9 || well as for fees.” Backhaut v. Apple Inc., No. 14-CV-02285-LHK, 2016 WL 3253946, at 10 || *2 (N.D. Cal. June 14, 2016) (collecting cases). 11 The Parties move the Court to approve the following stipulation: 12 Intuit shall file any motion for attorneys’ fees and nontaxable costs B under Rule 54(d)(2) and 35 U.S.C. § 285 no later than twenty-eight (28) days after the earliest of: (a) issuance of any Federal Circuit decision 14 affirming the Court’s judgment; (b) dismissal of any such appeal; or (c) 15 if no notice of appeal is timely filed, expiration of the time to file a notice of appeal. 16 7 ECF No. 349 at 3. 18 In the interest of judicial economy, the Stipulated Motion is GRANTED. Intuit shall 19 file any motion for attorneys’ fees and nontaxable costs under Rule 54(d)(2) and 35 U.S.C. 0 § 285 no later than twenty-eight (28) days after the earliest of: (a) issuance of any Federal 1 Circuit decision affirming the Court’s judgment; (b) dismissal of any such appeal; or (c) if 49 notice of appeal is timely filed, expiration of the time to file a notice of appeal. IT IS SO ORDERED. ‘ 23 Jekut S Yor A Dated: June 15, 2026 Hon. Robert S. Huie 25 United States District Judge 26 27 28