Monday, December 14, 2015

In Deciding Motion to Transfer Venue, Judicial Economy Does Not Override Convenience Factors

The court granted defendant's motion to transfer venue from the Eastern District of Texas to the Northern District of California even though judicial economy weighed against transfer. "Given that this Court is the only court with substantive experience with some of the patents-in-suit, and currently has twenty-six pending cases involving all four asserted patents, and six cases involving two asserted patents — all assigned to the same judge — there were at least some apparent judicial economy benefits at the time of the filing that favor this action remaining in this District. . . . In this situation, where [defendant] has made a strong showing in favor of transfer on factors such as the location of sources of proof and the convenience of witnesses, the benefits of judicial economy do not outweigh [defendant's] showing that the Northern District of California is clearly more convenient. Simply put, where [defendant] has shown the Northern District of California is a clearly more convenient forum, the considerations of judicial economy involving this Court’s prior experience with an overlapping patent do not override that showing to warrant a denial of transfer."

Chrimar Systems, Inc. et al v. Ruckus Wireless Inc., 6-15-cv-00638 (TXED December 9, 2015, Order) (Love, M.J.)

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