Hightower v. Celestron Acquisition, LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING 16 MOTION TO TRANSFER CASE; granting in part and denying in part 22 Motion to Intervene. Signed by Judge Edward J. Davila on 9/10/2020. (ejdlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/10/2020)Any non-CM/ECF Participants have been served by First Class Mail to the addresses of record listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SAN JOSE DIVISION
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DANIEL HIGHTOWER, et al.,
Case No. 5:20-cv-03639-EJD
Plaintiffs,
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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
TRANSFER
v.
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Re: Dkt. Nos. 16, 22
CELESTRON ACQUISITION, LLC, et al.,
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Defendants.
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This action is the lead case in a constellation of related actions arising out of alleged
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antitrust violations in the consumer telescope industry. On June 30, 2020, Defendants Celestron
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Acquisition, LLC (“Celestron”), SW Technology Corp (“SW”), Corey Lee, David Anderson and
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Joseph Lupica (all together, the “Moving Defendants”) filed a Motion to Transfer Venue Pursuant
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to 28 U.S.C. §1404(a) to the Central District of California (Dkt. No. 16, “Motion to Transfer”), as
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well as a Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (Dkt. No. 15,
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the “Motion to Dismiss”). Plaintiff Daniel Hightower opposes the Motion to Transfer (Dkt. No.
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24, “Opposition”), but the Motion to Dismiss was terminated as moot following Plaintiff’s filing
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of an amended complaint. The Court took the matter under submission without oral argument
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pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b). For the reasons below, Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED.
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The plaintiffs from related action Murphy v. Celestron, No. 20-cv-04049-EJD, Sigurd
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Murphy and Keith Uehara (the “Murphy Plaintiffs”), filed a Motion to Intervene and Oppose
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Defendants’ Motions to Transfer and the Motion to Dismiss. The Moving Defendants do not
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oppose the Murphy Plaintiffs’ request to file an opposition to the Motion to Transfer. The Murphy
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Defendants’ motion to intervene is GRANTED in part.
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Case No.: 5:20-cv-03639-EJD
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO TRANSFER
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I.
Background
Plaintiff Daniel Hightower is a telescope consumer and amateur astronomy enthusiast. He
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brought this action against a group of allegedly related telescope manufacturers and distributors,
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including the Moving Defendants as well as Defendants Synta Canada Int’l Enterprises, Ltd., Sky-
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Watcher USA, Sky-Watcher Canada, Olivon Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Olivon USA, LLC, Sylvia
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Shen, Jean Shen, and Laurence Huen. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants conspired with their
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competitor, Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd. (“Ningbo Sunny”) to fix prices, divide the market,
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retaliate against competitors, mislead U.S. authorities, illegally acquire assets, and dominate the
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U.S. market. Plaintiff, who seeks to represent a nation-wide class of indirect purchasers, alleges
that this conspiracy involved overcharging U.S. consumers like him for the last decade. FAC ¶ 2.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Plaintiff brought this action after a jury found Defendants’ alleged co-conspirator Ningbo
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Sunny liable on similar, if not identical, claims brought by telescope retailer Optronic
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Technologies, Inc. (“Orion”). See Optronic Technologies, Inc. v. Ningbo Sunny, et al., Case No.
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16-cv-6370-EJD, Dkt. No. 501 (the “Orion Action”). Post-judgment proceedings in the Orion
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Action are still pending before this Court. Although the allegations and claims in the two actions
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are overlapping, none of the parties to this action are parties in the Orion Action.
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The Moving Defendants filed this Motion to Transfer arguing that none of the Defendants
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are located in this District, and “the vast majority of the Moving Defendants and witnesses
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identified in the complaint” reside in the Central District of California. There is no dispute that
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Celestron, SW Technology, and Sky-Watcher USA are all headquartered within the Central
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District in Torrance, California. FAC ¶¶ 21-22, 29. Plaintiff opposes the Motion to Transfer.
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Dkt. No. 24. The non-moving Defendants did not take a position.
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Following the filing of this action, five other indirect purchasers and one direct purchaser
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filed actions similar to this one. On August 17, 2020, the Court ordered that the indirect purchaser
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actions be consolidated and that the consolidated action coordinate with the direct purchaser
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action. Dkt Nos. 55-56. Thus, both the consolidated indirect purchaser action and the direct
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purchaser action are currently proceeding before this Court.
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Case No.: 5:20-cv-03639-EJD
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO TRANSFER
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II.
Legal Standard
A court may transfer an action to another district where the action might have been brought
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for the convenience of the parties, the convenience of the witnesses, and in the interest of justice.
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28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). In determining whether to transfer an action pursuant to section 1404(a), a
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court considers the following factors: (1) the plaintiff’s choice of forum, (2) the convenience of the
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parties, (3) the convenience of the witnesses, (4) ease of access to the evidence, (5) familiarity of
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each forum with the applicable law, (6) feasibility of consideration of other claims, (7) any local
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interest in the controversy, and (8) the relative court congestion and time of trial in each forum.
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Stovall v. Align Tech., Inc., No. 5:18-CV-07540-EJD, 2019 WL 3945104, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Aug.
21, 2019). “The burden is on the party seeking transfer to show that when these factors are
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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applied, the balance of convenience clearly favors transfer.” Alul v. American Honda Motor
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Company, Inc., No. 16-04384 JST, 2016 WL 9116934 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 7, 2016) (citing
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Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n v. Savage, 611 F.2d 270, 279 (9th Cir. 1979)). A transfer is
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not appropriate if the result is merely to shift the inconvenience from one party to another. Van
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Dusen v. Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 645-46 (1964).
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III.
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Discussion
Because the parties do not dispute that this action might have been brought in the Central
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District, or that it was properly brought in the Northern District, the Court focuses on whether the
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balance of convenience and the interest of justice clearly weigh in favor of transfer.
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The Moving Defendants first argue that the Central District would be more convenient for
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the parties and the witnesses because the majority of the Moving Defendants are located there,
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whereas none of them, and none of the non-moving Defendants, are located in this District.
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Specifically, the Moving Defendants argue that the convenience for the witnesses, including
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Celestron employees, weighs in favor of transfer. Plaintiff argues that other vital witnesses,
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including Orion employees and Mr. Hightower himself, are located in this District. Thus,
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although some of Defendants’ employees, who may be called as witnesses, are located in the
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Central District, the convenience for witnesses overall does not clearly weigh in favor of transfer.
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Case No.: 5:20-cv-03639-EJD
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO TRANSFER
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The Moving Defendants further argue the majority of documents, including all Celestron
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records, are located in the Central District and, therefore, the ease of access to evidence weighs in
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favor of transfer. Plaintiff points out that the vast majority of evidence is likely to be produced
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through electronic discovery. Moreover, depending on health regulations related to the COVID-
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19 pandemic, depositions may take place virtually as well. Courts in this District have noted that
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“[i]n the age of electronically stored information, the ease of access to evidence is neutral because
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much of the evidence in this case will be electronic documents, which are relatively easy to obtain
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in any district.” Prescott v. Bayer HealthCare LLC, No. 5:20-CV-00102 NC, 2020 WL 3505717,
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at *5 (N.D. Cal. June 29, 2020) (quoting Doe v. Epic Games, Inc., 435 F. Supp. 3d 1024, 1042
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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(N.D. Cal. 2020)). Thus, the Court does not find that access to evidence favors transfer.
The Moving Defendants next argue that the interests of justice require this Court to
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transfer the action or maintain the action in light of this Court having presided over the Orion
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Action. They argue that “[p]utting these cases in the same court, . . . is a transparent effort to
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prejudice Moving Defendants by trying to bind them to the findings in the Orion Lawsuit, even
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though they were not parties in that action.” Mot. at 7. Plaintiff argues that, on the contrary, this
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Court is “especially well-suited to adjudicate the claims because this Court presided over the
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Orion litigation and is already familiar with many of the facts and legal issues.” Opp. at 7.
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Although the stars aligned to place these actions before this Court following the Orion action, the
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Court already held that the Orion Action is not related to the present dispute. See Orion Action,
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Dkt. No. 700. Thus, the Court finds that its familiarity with the issues is not relevant to the
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transfer analysis, but neither does it weigh in favor of transfer. This Court is capable of
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considering each action on its individual merits. To the extent that Plaintiff intends to invoke
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rulings from the Orion Action, relevant doctrines of preclusion will operate to ensure that
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Defendant is not improperly bound to any prior ruling.
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Finally, the Moving Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s choice of forum should not given
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much weight because he purports to represent a nationwide class. Lou v. Belzberg, 834 F.2d 730,
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739 (9th Cir. 1987) (where “an individual . . . represents a class, the named plaintiff's choice of
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Case No.: 5:20-cv-03639-EJD
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO TRANSFER
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forum is given less weight.”). Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of “all similarly situated
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consumers who purchased a telescope manufactured or sold by Defendants.” Given the
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geographically unlimited proposed class, the Court agrees that Plaintiff’s individual residence is
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not particularly relevant to the transfer analysis. Nevertheless, even if Plaintiff’s choice of forum
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is immaterial, the Moving Defendants have not otherwise met their burden of showing that the
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balance of convenience weighs in favor of transfer.
The Moving Defendants have, at best, demonstrated that the Central District would be an
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equally convenient forum for all parties, given that many Defendants reside there and that the
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Plaintiff’s proposed class does not have significant ties to the Northern District. But “Section
1404(a) exists to permit transfers to a more convenient forum, not to a forum likely to prove
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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equally convenient or inconvenient.” Adobe Sys. Inc. v. Childers, No. 5:10-cv-03571-JF/HRL,
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2011 WL 566812, at *9 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 14, 2011). Thus, the Moving Defendants have not met
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their burden to show that transfer is appropriate in this case.
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IV.
Conclusion
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For the reasons stated above, the Moving Defendants’ Motion to Transfer is DENIED.
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The Murphy Plaintiffs Motion to Intervene is GRANTED for the sole purpose of opposing the
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Motion to Transfer. The Murphy Plaintiffs’ request to file an opposition to the first Motion to
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Dismiss is DENIED as moot.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: September 10, 2020
______________________________________
EDWARD J. DAVILA
United States District Judge
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Case No.: 5:20-cv-03639-EJD
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO TRANSFER
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