California Eastern District Court

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (E.D. Cal.) operates within the Ninth Circuit, with appeals in patent cases directed to the Federal Circuit. Its main divisional offices are located in Sacramento and Fresno, also utilizing outlying magistrate judges in Yosemite, Redding, and Bakersfield. Relative to other federal districts in California, the Eastern District has a comparatively small patent docket. In 2025, it saw only ten new patent cases, following five new cases in 2024, which is significantly less active than the Central District (191 cases in 2025) or the Northern District (105 cases in 2025).

The Eastern District of California is not considered a "rocket docket" for patent litigation. In fact, for civil cases overall, it has been characterized by some of the slowest median times to trial nationally, reporting 64.5 months in 2024 and 68.3 months in 2023. However, these outlier statistics are noted to be skewed by the court's small sample size of patent cases and may not be fully representative of its patent docket specifically. The court's track record on patent-specific transfer motions, claim construction, or preferences for jury versus bench trials is not widely reported as distinctive from general California district court trends.

Unlike some other prominent patent litigation venues, the Eastern District of California does not have specific local patent rules or distinctive standing orders akin to those found in the Eastern District of Texas or the Northern District of California. Patent cases in the E.D. Cal. proceed under the court's general local rules and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. California's courts generally employ a variety of techniques to manage their dockets.

Among the cases tracked by this site, Yangtze Memory Technologies Company, Ltd. v. Micron Technology, Inc. et al., filed on November 9, 2023, is an active patent litigation. A noteworthy public ruling from the E.D. Cal. includes a preliminary injunction issued in Carbon Autonomous Robotic Systems Inc. v Laudando & Assocs. (No. 2:24-cv-03012, E.D. Cal., 12 June 2025). This order enjoined the defendant from selling an accused product, with the asserted patents pertaining to computer vision software designed to differentiate between weeds and desirable plants.

The court has six active district judges. Key judges include Chief U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley, United States District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta, and United States District Judge Dena Coggins. The district's judges have publicly noted a "judicial crisis" due to an unprecedented surge in immigration cases, which has contributed to significant delays in the resolution of other federal cases.