Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 1 of 10 PageID #: 30477
`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 1 of 10 PagelD #: 30477
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`EXHIBIT 9
`EXHIBIT 9
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 1 of 10 PagelD #: 30477
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`EXHIBIT 9
`EXHIBIT 9
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 2 of 10 PageID #: 30478
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`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 1
`
` FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
`___________________________________________
`WIRTGEN AMERICA, INC., )
`Plaintiff/Counterclaim-Defendant, )
`v. ) Case Number C.A.
` ) No. 17-770-RGA
`CATERPILLAR INC., )
` Defendant/Counterclaim-Plaintiff. )
`___________________________________________)
`
` HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL, OUTSIDE ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY
`
` Video Deposition of
` CONWELL K. RIFE, Jr.,
` in his personal capacity [page 7], and as a
` representative of CATERPILLAR, INC. [page 254]
` Monday, February 27, 2023
` 9:06 a.m.
`
`Court Stenographer:
`Patrick Mahon, RMR, CRR
`
`________________________________________________
` DIGITAL EVIDENCE GROUP
` 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 812
` Washington, D.C. 20036
` (202) 232-0646
`
`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
`
`202-232-0646
`
`
`
`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 3 of 10 PageID #: 30479
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 6
`The court reporter is Patrick Mahon in association
`with Digital Evidence Group.
` Will counsel please introduce themselves
`for the record, after which the court reporter
`will swear in the witness.
` MR. SEKYI: William Sekyi of Patterson
`Intellectual Property Law Group representing
`Wirtgen America.
` MR. RAQUE: Samuel Raque of Patterson
`Intellectual Property Law Group representing
`Wirtgen America.
` MR. YOON: James Yoon, Wilson Sonsini
`Goodrich & Rosati representing the Defendant and
`Counterclaim-Plaintiff Caterpillar, Inc., also
`representing the witness.
` (The oath was administered by the
`court stenographer.)
` WITNESS RESPONSE: I do.
` COURT STENOGRAPHER: Okay.
` MR. YOON: And before we get started, the
`parties have agreed that this transcript will be
`initially marked under the protective order Highly
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`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
`
`202-232-0646
`
`
`
`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 4 of 10 PageID #: 30480
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 7
`Confidential, Outside Attorneys' Only subject to
`the right of the parties to meet-and-confer and
`down-designate where appropriate.
` And also, just to state for the record,
`Mr. Rife is attending not only in his personal
`capacity, but he has been designated on topics 42
`and 43 of the 30(b)(6) notice served by
`Wirtgen America, Inc.
` And counsel and I have agreed that when we
`turn to the 30(b)(6) topics, we'll sign-post it to
`the court reporter so that we note the time of the
`questioning.
` MR. SEKYI: Okay.
` CONWELL K. RIFE, Jr.,
` in his personal capacity,
` a witness in the above-entitled proceedings,
` after having been first duly sworn,
` testified under oath as follows:
` EXAMINATION
`BY MR. SEKYI:
` Q. Okay. Good morning, Mr. Rife. As
`you may have heard, my name is William Sekyi, and
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`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
`
`202-232-0646
`
`
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 5 of 10 PageID #: 30481
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 95
`2, because you need to know (motioning) all the
`rest of the pieces around before you specifically
`identify what you're doing for software.
` Q. Okay.
` A. So that would be closer between 2 and
`3.
` Q. Between 2 and 3.
` When is the frame designed?
` A. Frame --
` Q. The chassis frame?
` A. The base part of the chassis is
`initiated early in the development, but
`understand, it is always built on, because you're
`putting everything -- so it is constantly being
`morphed through the program.
` Q. When do prototypes get built between
`the gateways?
` A. Should be after gateway 4.
` Q. Okay. Gateway 4.
` I've heard of something called a pilot.
`What is "a pilot"?
` A. So different terms, different things.
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`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
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`202-232-0646
`
`
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 6 of 10 PageID #: 30482
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 145
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` What's "PMO"?
` A. PMO is a project management -- oh,
`project management -- what's the "O" stand for?
`It's a project management tool. Okay?
` So as you're looking at it,
`it -- basically, you're laying out your schedule
`and you're defining what the tasks are, when they
`should start, what's the critical path,
`understanding all those aspects of running a
`project.
` Q. Oh. Like a Gantt chart?
` A. Yeah, it would be a Gantt chart if
`you look at that.
` I guess the "O" actually stands for
`office. So it's PMO. So it's the project
`management office.
` Q. Oh.
` A. So you would have a project
`management tool, well, which would be the Gantt
`chart as we're running down through there. So...
` Q. Okay. When was the first time -- or
`was there a first time when you first saw a PM600?
`
`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
`
`202-232-0646
`
`
`
`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 7 of 10 PageID #: 30483
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 146
` A. When was the first time I saw -- as a
`electronic file? As a hard file?
` Q. As a physical machine.
` A. As a physical machine?
` Q. A prototype form.
` A. It was after Eric took over the
`design. So I would say... It would probably have
`been in the '15-ish kind, 2015, 2016 time frame,
`somewhere in there, after they built the first
`prototype. Eric would give you a better time
`estimate on that than I would. But it would have
`been after they built the first prototype. I
`would have been able to see it in the R&D shop.
` Q. Have you ever ridden one or operated
`one?
` A. Oh, yes. Yes, I've been on -- I've
`been on a 600, an 800. I've been on both of them,
`yes.
` Operation? Yes, I've run one. I'm not as
`skilled as what Eric is. I don't live with the
`machine day in and day out, but I understand the
`general operational pieces, which are not much
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`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
`
`202-232-0646
`
`
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 8 of 10 PageID #: 30484
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 147
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`different than the 565; understand?
` As you take a look at the 565, that was
`the father or the mother of cold planers for
`Caterpillar. The 600 really is just the new
`version of that. The majority of the systems are
`all the same, all inside there. Okay? So
`it's -- you know, it is the predecessor. The 565,
`201 is the predecessor to the 600.
` Q. Oh. What did your role as the
`engineering manager for the PM600 entail?
` A. For the -- for the two months I was
`there? We were trying to get it back on schedule,
`understanding the resources that were being
`applied to it. We had a lot of bodies that were
`trying to finish it up and trying to get this more
`organized to be efficient about what was going on,
`understand what was yet to be done to close out
`the design and basically have the engineers be
`penciled down, okay, so saying, Yes, this is done
`and ready to go.
` That was really -- you know, the whole
`conceptual aspect of what are we going to do, that
`
`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
`
`202-232-0646
`
`
`
`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 9 of 10 PageID #: 30485
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 148
`was -- that was all done prior to my time. Okay?
`Mine was, Okay, let's finish the implementation of
`this. Let's get that done. Let's start getting
`efficient. And then, as you can see, we were
`starting to talk about how do we move resources to
`the PM3X.
` Q. Okay. When you started off as the
`engineering manager for the PM600, you were a
`little bit before the first prototype built?
` A. Yes. I was well -- I was before the
`first prototype. We -- yes. We didn't have all
`the software finished yet at that point in time.
`The hydraulics work was just about done when -- at
`the end of the two months, so those pieces were
`all done. But we did not have a machine to build.
`We had components, but we did not have a machine
`built.
` Q. Okay. So your role then was seeing
`that drawings, the final engineering drawings were
`complete?
` A. That's correct.
` Q. That the design was tied down?
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`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
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`202-232-0646
`
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 307-2 Filed 02/02/24 Page 10 of 10 PageID #: 30486
`
`2/27/2023
`
`Wirtgen America Inc. v. Caterpillar Inc.
`Highly Confidential - Outside Attorneys' Eyes Only
`
`Conwell K. Rife, Jr.
`
`Page 262
`
`STATE OF MINNESOTA)
` : ss CERTIFICATE
`COUNTY OF HENNEPIN)
`
` I, Patrick J. Mahon, Registered Merit
`Reporter, a Notary Public in and for the County of
`Hennepin, State of Minnesota, hereby certify that
`I reported the deposition as noted on the first
`page, and that the witness was by me first duly
`sworn to tell the whole truth;
` That the testimony was transcribed under
`my direction and is a true record of the testimony
`of the witness;
` That the cost of the original has been
`charged to the party who noticed the deposition,
`and that all parties who ordered copies have been
`charged at the same rate for such copies;
` That I am not a relative or employee or
`attorney or counsel of any of the parties or a
`relative or employee of such attorney or counsel;
` That I am not financially interested in
`the action and have no contract with the parties,
`attorneys, or persons with an interest in the
`action that affects or has a substantial tendency
`to affect my impartiality;
` WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL this 7th day of
`March 2022.
`
` ________________________________
` Patrick J. Mahon
` Registered Merit Reporter
` Certified Realtime Reporter
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`www.DigitalEvidenceGroup.comDigital Evidence Group C'rt 2023
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`202-232-0646
`
`
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