Wednesday, March 10, 2010

In Determining Proper Venue, Court Will Not Scrutinize Plaintiff's Reason For Relocation To The Eastern District of Texas

Defendants' motion to transfer venue was denied. "[Defendant] argues that [plaintiff] moved its location from Ann Arbor to Longview as a sham concocted simply in anticipation of this litigation. . . . [A] business opens its doors in a particular location for a number of considerations, including the cost of rent, market profitability, cost of doing business, and tax benefits. The Court declines to scrutinize litigants’ business decisions in order to determine whether opening an office in a particular location has a legitimate business purpose or is merely a 'tactic . . . to manipulate venue.' Moving a business to a particular location is not the type of activity that, on its face, serves no purpose but to manipulate venue."

MedIdea, LLC v. Zimmer Holdings, Inc. et al., 2-09-cv-00258 (TXED March 8, 2010, Memorandum Opinion & Order) (Ward, J.)

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