TC Heartland Applies to Unincorporated Associations, Such as LLCs​

The court transferred plaintiff's patent infringement action for improper venue and rejected plaintiff's argument that TC Heartland did not apply to limited liability companies like defendant. "The Supreme Court explicitly limited its analysis in [TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1514 (2017)]: 'we confine our analysis to the proper venue for corporations' and reserved the applicability of its holding to unincorporated entities. . . . Unincorporated associations, such as limited liability companies, are generally treated like corporations for purposes of venue, whereby the 'residence' is the association’s principle place of business. Now that the Supreme Court has reinforced that 'residence' for corporate defendants in a patent infringement case is limited to the state of incorporation, [plaintiff] is hard-pressed to present a reason why unincorporated associations should be treated differently."

Maxchief Investments Limited v. Plastic Development Group, LLC (TWP2), 3-16-cv-00063 (TNED August 14, 2017, Order) (Phillips, USDJ)