Novelty Products Inc. ("Novelty") is a corporation that manufactures novelty items that are sold to gift shops throughout the United States. Its corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant are in Buffalo, New York. Gift Ideas, Inc. ("Gift") is a corporation that owns a chain of gift shops located throughout California. Its corporate headquarters is in Los Angeles.

Over the past five years, Gift has periodically ordered products from Novelty under an established procedure. Gift's purchasing department places orders over the telephone, and Novelty sends a written confirmation of the order before delivering it. Gift then pays for each shipment within thirty days of receipt.

One of the items Gift has ordered from Novelty during that time is a patented tabletop electric cigarette lighter called the "Magic Lite." Gift has ordered the lighter, in increasingly large shipments, approximately every six months. The lighter now accounts for about half of all the sales from Novelty to Gift. The latest light offer for $30,000 was made the usual way, and was shipped last month.

A few days ago, Gift notified Novelty that the latest shipment of lighters would be returned unpaid. Gift has just decided to make and market a tabletop electric lighter itself, and from now on its shops will only carry its own lighter. The Gift lighter, called the "Magic Flame" is almost identical in appearance and design to the Novelty lighter. A few months ago, Novelty's design chief left the company, and began working for Gift.

The shipment of lighters has been returned to Novelty, but Novelty been unable to find another buyer for the lighters. Since Novelty will soon be marketing a new version of the lighter, finding a buyer seems unlikely.
The President of Novelty comes to your law office for help.

1. Evaluate the client's objectives, priorities, and cost constraints.
2. Define the Client's litigation objectives
3. Develop a "theory of the case"
4. Plan the pleadings
5. Plan the discovery
6. Plan the dispositive motions
7. Plan the settlement approach
8. Develop a litigation timetable.