Federal Circuit: Texas Court Abused Its Discretion By Delaying On Venue Transfer Motion While Proceeding With the Merits of the Case (March 2021)
March 4, 2021 – The Intellectual Property StrategistA district court has broad discretion to manage its docket and decide venue transfer motions. The ongoing proceedings in Netlist, Inc. v. SK Hynix Inc., Nos. 6:20-CV-00194-ADA, 6:20-cv-00525-ADA (W.D. Tex.) provide an unusual and informative example of the scope and bounds of that discretion.
On March 17, 2020, Plaintiff Netlist filed a first action in the Western District of Texas alleging that Defendant SK Hynix infringes two related patents. A few months later, on June 15, 2020, it filed a second action in the same court alleging infringement of a third, unrelated patent. District Court Judge Alan Albright consolidated the cases, setting a Markman hearing for March 19, 2021 and trial for Dec. 6, 2021. See, e.g., -194 case, Dkt. No. 73 at 3, 5.
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