TriDiNetworks Ltd. v. NXP USA, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedMay 7, 2020
Docket1:19-cv-01062
StatusUnknown

This text of TriDiNetworks Ltd. v. NXP USA, Inc. (TriDiNetworks Ltd. v. NXP USA, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TriDiNetworks Ltd. v. NXP USA, Inc., (D. Del. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

TRIDINETWORKS LTD., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 19-1062-CFC-CJB ) NXP USA, INC. and NXP B.V., ) ) Defendants. )

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Presently before the Court in this patent infringement case is Defendant NXP B.V.’s (“Defendant” or “NXP B.V.”) Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint, (D.I. 15) (the “Motion”). In the Motion, Defendant asks the Court to dismiss the operative First Amended Complaint pursuant to: (1) Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) for lack of personal jurisdiction and (2) Federal Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (Id.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that Defendant’s Motion be GRANTED on personal jurisdiction grounds, such that the Court need not address the Motion’s Rule 12(b)(6) arguments. I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff TriDiNetworks Ltd. (“Plaintiff”) is a corporation organized under the laws of Israel with its principal place of business located in that country. (D.I. 7 at ¶ 1) Plaintiff is the assignee of the patent-in-suit, United States Patent No. 8,437,276 (the “'276 patent”). (Id. at ¶ 10) Defendant NXP B.V. is a corporation organized under the laws of the Netherlands with its principal place of business there. (Id. at ¶ 3) Defendant NXP USA, Inc. (“NXP USA,” and collectively with NXP B.V., “Defendants”) is a corporation incorporated in Delaware with its principal place of business in California. (Id. at ¶ 2) The relationship between the foreign and domestic Defendant entities is set forth in the

declaration of Timothy Shelhamer, the Assistant Secretary of NXP USA, which was filed in support of the Motion (the “Shelhamer Declaration”). (D.I. 17) At the top of the organization is non-party NXP Semiconductors N.V. (“NXP N.V.”), which is a Dutch company headquartered in the Netherlands. (Id. at ¶ 3). NXP B.V. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NXP N.V. (Id.) NXP B.V., in turn, wholly owns its subsidiary Freescale Semiconductor Holdings V, which in turn wholly owns NXP USA. (Id. at ¶ 5) According to the Shelhamer Declaration, NXP B.V. is effectively a holding corporation. It does not direct “manufacturing, marketing and/or sales of any product into any geographic area.” (Id. at ¶ 3) Rather, it merely “has an ownership interest, either directly or indirectly” in various other worldwide NXP entities who have “the responsibility and capacity for

manufacturing, marketing and/or selling products.” (Id.) NXP B.V. owns a website, nxp.com. (Id.; D.I. 18, ex. 1 at ¶ 6) Further relevant facts related to resolution of the Motion will be set out as needed in Section III. B. Procedural Background

Plaintiff filed this case on June 7, 2019,1 (D.I. 1), and filed its operative First Amended Complaint on July 17, 2019, (D.I. 7). Defendant filed its Motion on October 18, 2019, (D.I.

1 On that same date, Plaintiff filed two other actions in this Court in which it asserts the '276 patent: TriDiNetworks Ltd. v. Signify North America Corp. et al., Civil Action No. 19- 1063-CFC-CJB and TriDiNetworks Ltd. v. STMicroelectronics International N.V., Civil Action No. 19-1064-CFC-CJB. 15);2 briefing was completed on November 8, 2019, (D.I. 21). The Court has been referred this case for all purposes up through expert discovery, except for the Markman hearing. (D.I. 10; D.I. 40) II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Rule 12(b)(2) requires the Court to dismiss any case in which it lacks personal jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2); Nespresso USA, Inc. v. Ethical Coffee Co. SA, 263 F. Supp. 3d 498, 502 (D. Del. 2017). When a defendant moves to dismiss a lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden of showing the basis for jurisdiction; in a situation like this, where no evidentiary hearing has been held, the plaintiff must only make a prima facie showing that personal jurisdiction exists. See Nespresso, 263 F. Supp. 3d at 502; Hardwire, LLC v. Zero Int’l, Inc., Civil Action No. 14-54-LPS-CJB, 2014 WL 5144610, at *5 (D. Del. Oct. 14, 2014) (citing cases); Power Integrations, Inc. v. BCD Semiconductor Corp., 547 F. Supp. 2d 365, 369 (D. Del. 2008). To make out this prima facie showing, the plaintiff must “‘establish[] with reasonable particularity sufficient contacts between the defendant and the

forum state.’” Mellon Bank (E.) PSFS, Nat’l Ass’n v. Farino, 960 F.2d 1217, 1223 (3d Cir. 1992) (citations omitted); see also bioMérieux, S.A. v. Hologic, Inc., C.A. No. 18-21-LPS, 2018 WL 4647483, at *2 (D. Del. Sept. 26, 2018). In reviewing a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the Court may consider the pleadings, affidavits, declarations and exhibits, and must construe all disputed facts in the plaintiff’s favor. Round Rock Research LLC v. ASUSTeK Comput. Inc., 967 F. Supp. 2d 969, 972 (D. Del. 2013); Power Integrations, 547 F. Supp. 2d at 369; see also Hardwire, 2014 WL 5144610, at *5.

2 Also pending in this case is NXP USA’s Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint, in which it argues for dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). (D.I. 13; see also D.I. 14) The Court will address this motion in a forthcoming Report and Recommendation. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized two classifications of personal jurisdiction: “general jurisdiction” and “specific jurisdiction.” Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 919 (2011) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The Supreme Court distinguished between these concepts in International Shoe Co. v.

Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945), which remains the “‘canonical opinion’” in the area of personal jurisdiction. Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117, 126 (2014) (citation omitted). “Specific jurisdiction” encompasses causes of action that “‘aris[e] out of or relate[] to the defendant’s contacts with the forum.’” Goodyear, 564 U.S. at 923-24 (quoting Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414 n.8 (1984)). “General jurisdiction” encompasses complaints arising from dealings that are distinct from the defendant’s activities in the state. Id. at 924 (citing Int’l Shoe, 326 U.S. at 318); see also Daimler, 571 U.S. at 127. A court may exercise “‘general jurisdiction over foreign (sister-state or foreign-country) corporations’” only when the corporation’s “‘affiliations with the State [in which suit is brought] are so continuous and systematic as to render [it] essentially at home in the forum State.’”

Daimler, 571 U.S. at 127 (certain internal quotation marks and citations omitted). In order to establish personal jurisdiction, a plaintiff must adduce facts sufficient to satisfy two requirements—one statutory and one constitutional. Hardwire, 2014 WL 5144610, at *6. In the typical analysis of the statutory prong, courts consider whether the defendant’s actions fall within the scope of a state’s long-arm statute. Id. at *6; Power Integrations, 547 F. Supp. 2d at 369. In analyzing the constitutional prong, courts determine whether the exercise of jurisdiction comports with the defendant’s right to due process. Hardwire, 2014 WL 5144610, at *6; Power Integrations, 547 F. Supp. 2d at 369 (citing Int’l Shoe, 326 U.S. at 316).

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