NEW YORK (LN) — U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni on Friday ordered the parties in Guidepoint Global, LLC v. Ware to submit a joint letter by July 2 detailing their positions on consolidating the preliminary injunction proceeding and the merits trial, while also granting the plaintiff permission to proceed with third-party discovery on an expedited basis without seeking leave of court.
The scheduling order, issued after a status conference on May 15, adjourned the initial pretrial conference from June 26 to July 10.
Caproni directed the parties to address the status of fact discovery, the necessity of expert discovery, and mutually acceptable trial dates falling between August 1 and August 14, or October 1 and November 20, 2026.
The order also extended the defendants’ deadline to answer or otherwise respond to the First Amended Complaint to June 5, 2026.
If any defendant moves to dismiss the complaint, the plaintiff has until July 7 to file an opposition, with defendants’ replies due by July 21.
A significant portion of the order focused on the mechanics of expedited discovery.
The court ordered the parties to present a mutually agreed-upon proposed order to perform a forensic inspection and protocol agreement, referred to as the “Expedited Discovery Protocol,” by May 29.
If the parties cannot agree on the protocol by that date, they must submit a joint letter by May 29 detailing the areas of dispute and their proposed solutions.
The order further permitted the plaintiff to proceed with third-party discovery on an expedited basis without first seeking leave of court.
Additionally, the court set a deadline of June 30 for the defendants to depose John Campanella, the chief financial officer for Guidepoint Global, LLC.
The order also terminated the open motion at docket entry 48.
The case involves allegations against defendants Alan Ware, Sheetal Duggal, Kirang Gohil, and Christiana (a/k/a Tiana) Eng, as well as Inquire Network, Inc.
The court noted the existence of defendants’ consent orders and stipulated injunctions in its reasoning for considering trial consolidation.