Monday, October 4, 2010

Judge Davis Questions Whether Litigating Venue Disputes is in Clients' Best Interest

In granting defendants' motion to transfer venue, the court questioned whether the expense of litigating venue is generally in the clients' best interests. "Motions to transfer in patent cases have become almost common place. Often, defendants merely seek to move the litigation to their home district under the assumption that since the plaintiff chose the forum where the case was filed, it cannot be a 'good' venue for the defendant. The transfer issue becomes almost a separate litigation within the case, with discovery being taken and hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent to litigate the issue. Each side seeks to identify every possible witness and document in the United States that might support their position, the vast majority of whom will not be deposed, called to testify, or offered at trial. The Court has serious questions over whether such a fight is in a client’s best interest."

ON Semiconductor Corp. et al v. Hynix Semiconductor Inc et al., 6-09-cv-00390 (TXED September 30, 2010, Memorandum Opinion & Order) (Davis, J.)

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