On June 8th, Judge Robinson denied two motions to transfer. We reported on one last week — Marvell International Ltd. v. Link_A_Media Devices Corp., C.A. No. 10-869-SLR (D. Del. June 8, 2011). The second denial, in XPRT Ventures, LLC v. eBay, Inc., C.A. No. 10-595-SLR (D. Del. June 8, 2011), again emphasized that (1) the defendants are Delaware corporations, (2) that judicial congestion in the District of Delaware is not a factor, and (3) that “[i]n this electronic age, there are no substantial burdens associated with discovery or witness availability that support the need to transfer.” Id. at 6-7.
One interesting wrinkle in this second denial is that the plaintiff in XPRT had previously disclosed some of the subject matter to the defendants under a confidentiality agreement with a forum selection clause. The Court held, however, that the “Agreement’s forum selection clause controls only breaches of confidentiality,” due to language in the clause stating that it applied to breaches “arising out of this Agreement” and because “the Agreement explicitly states that there is no bar from bringing patent infringement cases.” Id. at 6.
XPRT Ventures, LLC. v. eBay, Inc., C.A. No. 10-595-SLR (D. Del. June 8, 2011)
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