The parties in SCO v. Novell have stipulated [PDF] to extend fact discovery another month, until the end of April. What does it mean? Probably that something has come up in a deposition or in paper discovery that they want to dig into a little deeper. It isn't unusual for that to happen. If you look on the first Scheduling Order [PDF] in SCO v. IBM, for example, you'll see this notation under the header, DISCOVERY CUTOFF, which originally set the cutoff date as August 4, 2004: If additional fact discovery is made necessary by expert reports or depositions, it may take place until 10/22/04. Quaint, isn't it? 2004. As you can see, a discovery cutoff date is not carved in stone. So Novell and SCO have agreed to another month, and if they haven't finished then, they can stipulate again, I expect, and failing that one of the parties can ask the judge to extend it further. If you have been watching the IBM discovery waltz, you've seen how that works. If you look at it from the point of view of the parties, though, or the court you can understand that they want to have enough time to get all the facts they can, within reason, because the idea is to have a case decided on a complete picture. I can't say, then, that this is a surprise to me. And there is no delay in the date for trial to begin, which is still September: The parties have until April 30, 2007 to complete all outstanding fact discovery. This stipulation does not alter the parties' September 17, 2007 trial date. The parties in SCO v IBM have also agreed to some extensions [PDF], specifically, deadlines for responding to requests for admissions, Rule 20(b)(6) depositions, motions in limine, etc.
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