Jaffe v. LSI Corp.

874 F. Supp. 2d 499, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83558, 2012 WL 2248044
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedJune 15, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 3:12-CV-25
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 874 F. Supp. 2d 499 (Jaffe v. LSI Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jaffe v. LSI Corp., 874 F. Supp. 2d 499, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83558, 2012 WL 2248044 (E.D. Va. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JAMES R. SPENCER, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the following motions: (1) Defendant Atmel Corporation’s (“Atmel”) Motion to Dismiss for Misjoinder or, in the Alternative, to Transfer Venue to the Northern District of California Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (Doc. No. 49); and (2) Defendants Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (“Cypress”), LSI Corporation (“LSI”), MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MSC”), MagnaChip Semiconductor, Inc. (“MSA”) and ON Semiconductor Corporation’s (“ON”) (collectively “Remaining Defendants”) Motion to Transfer Venue to the Northern District of California Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). (Doc. No. 59.) For the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS Defendant Atmel’s Motion to Transfer Venue to the Northern District of California, GRANTS the Remaining Defendants’ Motion to Transfer Venue to the Northern District of California, and DEFERS Defendant Atmel’s Motion to Dismiss for Misjoinder for consideration by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

I. BACKGROUND

On January 10, 2012, Plaintiff Dr. Michael Jaffé, acting in his capacity as Insolvency Administrator over the assets of Qimonda AG, a German corporation, filed suit against LSI, seeking injunctive relief and damages for LSI’s alleged infringement of five patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,851,899; 5,821,804; 6,559,547; 5,780,929; and 5,646,434 (collectively “Patents”). (Compl., Doc. No. 1.) These patents relate to semiconductor integrated circuits that were manufactured at the facility of Qimonda Richmond LLC (“Qimonda Richmond”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qimonda AG having its principal place of business in Richmond, Virginia. Qimonda Richmond employed over two thousand employees at its facility in Richmond, which closed in 2009 upon Qimonda Richmond’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

On February 16, 2012, Dr. Jaffé filed an Amended Complaint joining Atmel, Cypress, MSC, MSA, and ON as additional Defendants. (Am. Compl., Doc. No. 13.) The Amended Complaint alleges that Defendants directly and indirectly infringe the Patents. On April 19, 2012, Atmel filed its Motion seeking to dismiss the claims against it, or in the alternative, to [502]*502transfer venue to the Northern District of California. The Remaining Defendants brought their own Motion seeking transfer to the Northern District of California six days later.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A district court may transfer a civil action “to any other district or division where it might have been brought” if the transferee district is more convenient for parties and witnesses. 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). This decision is committed to the district court’s sound discretion. Inline Connection Corp. v. Verizon Internet Servs., Inc., 402 F.Supp.2d 695, 699 (E.D.Va.2005).

When deciding whether a transfer of venue is appropriate under this statutory provision, courts follow a two-step inquiry: First, the court must determine whether the claims could have been brought in the transferee forum. JTH Tax, Inc. v. Lee, 482 F.Supp.2d 731, 735 (E.D.Va.2007). Second, the court must consider three factors: (1) the plaintiffs choice of venue, (2) the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and (3) the interests of justice. Id. at 735-36.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Atmel’s Motion to Transfer Venue

The first step in the Court’s venue transfer analysis is to determine whether Atmel could have brought this action in the venue to which it seeks to transfer this action-the Northern District of California (“NDCA”). Under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), a patent infringement plaintiff can lay venue in any “district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business.” For venue purposes, Atmel “resides” in any judicial district where it is subject to personal jurisdiction upon commencement of the action. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(c)(2). Atmel’s headquarters are in San Jose, California, which is within the NDCA. Thus, Atmel resides within the NDCA and would be subject to personal jurisdiction there. Jaffé therefore cannot dispute that he could have brought this action against Atmel in the NDCA.

The second step in the Court’s venue transfer analysis is to weigh three factors: (1) the plaintiffs choice of venue, (2) the convenience of the parties and witnesses, and (3) the interests of justice. JTH Tax, 482 F.Supp.2d at 735-36.

i. Jaffé’s choice of venue

Atmel first argues that Jaffé’s choice of venue—the Richmond Division of the EDVA—is not entitled to any weight. While there is a presumption that a suit should stay in the forum chosen by the plaintiff, Atmel contends “the plaintiffs choice of forum is not entitled to substantial weight if the chosen forum is not the plaintiffs ‘home forum,’ and the cause of action bears little or no relation to the chosen forum.” Lycos, Inc. v. TiVo, Inc., 499 F.Supp.2d 685, 692 (E.D.Va.2007) (quoting Telepharmacy Solutions, Inc. v. Pickpoint Corp., 238 F.Supp.2d 741, 743 (E.D.Va.2003)). “[I]f there is little connection between the claims and [the chosen forum], that would militate against a plaintiffs chosen forum and weigh in favor of transfer to a venue with more substantial contacts.” Koh v. Microtek Int’l, Inc., 250 F.Supp.2d 627, 635 (E.D.Va.2003).

Atmel relies on Pragmatus AV, LLC v. Facebook, Inc., 769 F.Supp.2d 991 (E.D.Va.2011), where the district court found that a “non-practicing” patent infringement plaintiff whose “main line of business is enforcing its intellectual property rights” had only a weak connection with the EDVA. Id. at 995. The plaintiffs connections to the EDVA were: (1) that it enforced its intellectual property rights here; (2) that it had a part-time, co-owner [503]*503employee who resided in the district; and (3) that it incorporated in Alexandria one week before purchasing the patent portfolio and five months before filing the lawsuit. Id. The district court accorded “minimal weight” to the plaintiffs forum choice “in light of the weak connection between the plaintiff and the Eastern District of Virginia.” Id.

Atmel argues that here, Jaffé’s connections to the EDVA are even weaker: Atmel states that unlike the Pragmatus plaintiff, Jaffé does not reside here or have any employees here, and that his only connection to the district is that he is using it in an effort to monetize patents so as to satisfy Qimonda’s creditors. Atmel contends that Jaffé cannot place any reliance on Qimonda’s past presence and operations in the Richmond area; Qimonda’s subsidiary located in Richmond shut down over three years ago. (Am. Compl. ¶ 5, Doc. No. 13.) Atmel stresses that the Supreme Court has said that the “might have been brought” language of the venue transfer statute “directs the attention of the judge who is considering a transfer to the situation which existed when suit was instituted.” Hoffman v. Blaski,

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874 F. Supp. 2d 499, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83558, 2012 WL 2248044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jaffe-v-lsi-corp-vaed-2012.