Judge Sleet recently denied defendant Cree, Inc.’s motion to transfer venue of plaintiff E. Fred Schubert’s action to the Middle District of North Carolina. Schubert v. Cree Inc., C.A. No. 12-922-GMS (D. Del. Feb. 14, 2013). Schubert, a resident of New York, filed this action against Cree, a resident of North Carolina, along with two other actions alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,294,475. Judge Sleet determined that the Jumara factors weighed against transfer. Because Delaware was not Schubert’s “home forum,” Judge Sleet noted that Schubert’s forum selection was not “deserving of ‘paramount’ consideration.” Id. at 5. But, Schubert’s forum choice was entitled to “some degree of heightened deference given its underlying rational and legitimate basis — namely, the desire to litigate in a district approximately halfway between the parties and in which Schubert intends to litigate two related cases.” Id. The court determined that defendants’s forum preference, where the claim arose and the location of books and records weighed in favor of transfer, but all other factors were either inapplicable or weighed against transfer. Id. at 5-10. Regarding the convenience of the parties, Judge Sleet noted the financial disparity between the parties and concluded that Cree had “far deeper pockets” and was better able to “bear any increased costs.” Id. at 6-7. Also, the “practical considerations,” factor weighed strongly against transfer considering that two related cases were currently pending in Delaware. Id. at 8-9.
Schubert v. Cree Inc., C.A. No. 12-922-GMS (D. Del. Feb. 14, 2013) by
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