Thursday, December 10, 2009

In re TS Tech, In re Genentech, and In re Volkswagen Do Not Provide "New Grounds" for Transfer of Venue

Defendant's motion to transfer venue for convenience was denied. In an earlier case, the court denied defendant's motion to transfer venue and in connection with a subsequent dismissal without prejudice the parties agreed that venue would be in the Eastern District of Texas unless there were "new grounds" for transfer. In the instant case, the court rejected defendant's argument that In re Volkswagen of America, Inc., 545 F.3d 304 (5th Cir. 2008), In re TS Tech USA Corp., 551 F.3d 1315 (Fed. Cir. 2008), and In re Genentech, 566 F.3d 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2009) provided "new grounds" for transfer. "Although the new cases clarified the standard for obtaining a venue transfer, these cases continue to apply the same public and private interest factors in evaluating § 1404(a) transfer motions. Indeed, the Federal Circuit has stated that it was applying well settled Fifth Circuit law."

Financial Sytems Tech. (Intellectual Property) Pty. Ltd. et al. v. Oracle Corp., 2-08-cv-00371 (TXED December 8, 2009, Memorandum Opinion & Order) (Everingham, M.J.).

No comments: