Illumina, Inc. v. BGI Genomics Co., Ltd

BACKGROUND

27 Illumina filed this action on June 27, 2019. After it amended its complaint, CGI filed an Answer to the Amended Complaint on September 30, 2019, asserting twelve affirmative defenses and one count of infringement of one of its own patents. Dkt. Nos. 1, 52, and 54 (Answer and Counterclaims). Illumina then filed a Motion to Strike CGI’s Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth affirmative defenses, and a Motion to Dismiss CGI’s allegations of induced infringement and willful infringement and the accompanying request for damages. Dkt. No. 65. LEGAL STANDARD Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f), “[t]he Court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). “The function of a 12(f) motion to strike is to avoid the expenditure of time and money that must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial.” Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi-Craft Co., 618 F.3d 970, 973 (9th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). Motions to strike should…