Tschudy v. J.C. Penny Corporation, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER granting 50 Motion to Sever Illinois Plaintiffs and Transfer Venue of Illinois Plaintiffs' Claims. Signed by Judge Jeffrey T. Miller on 04/27/12. (cge)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RAYMOND TSCHUDY, individually, on
behalf of himself, all others similarly situated,
and on behalf of the general public,
Plaintiff,
v.
Case No.: 11cv1011 JM-CAB
J. C. PENNEY CORPORATION, INC., a
Delaware corporation; and DOES 1 to 100,
inclusive,
Defendants.
Docket No. 50
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
SEVER ILLINOIS PLAINTIFFS AND
TRANSFER VENUE OF ILLINOIS
PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS
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I. BACKGROUND
In April 2011, Plaintiff Raymond Tschudy filed a class action complaint in San Diego
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Superior Court claiming that Defendant J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (“JCP”) violated several
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California laws by failing to fully compensate employees for unused paid vacation time. The
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action was removed to this court shortly thereafter. On February 8, 2012, the court granted
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Plaintiffs’ motion to file a second amended complaint, which also contains claims against JCP by
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several Plaintiffs residing in Illinois. JCP now moves to transfer the Illinois Plaintiffs’ claims
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from this court to the Northern District of Illinois. For the reasons stated below, the motion is
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GRANTED.
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II. LEGAL STANDARD AND DISCUSSION
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A. Standard for Venue Transfer
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Venue transfer is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which states that an action can be
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transferred to another district “[f]or the convenience of the parties and witnesses, in the interest
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of justice” if the case could have originally been brought in the transferee court. Here, there is
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no dispute that the Illinois Plaintiffs’ claims could have been brought in the Northern District of
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Illinois, so the court need only examine whether transfer would serve the interest of justice and
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be more convenient for the parties and witnesses. District courts may look to a host of factors in
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deciding whether to transfer venue, including (but not limited to) (1) which state is more familiar
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with the governing law, (2) the respective parties’ contacts with the forum, (3) plaintiff’s choice
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of forum, (4) ease of access to witnesses and other evidence, and (5) differences in litigation
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costs. Jones v. GNC Franchising, Inc., 211 F.3d 495, 498-99 (9th Cir. 2000). The Ninth Circuit
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has also enumerated several public interest factors appropriate for consideration, including (1)
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court congestion, (2) the local interest in trying localized controversies at home, (3) avoidance of
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unnecessary conflict of laws problems, and (4) unfairness of burdening citizens in an unrelated
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forum with jury duty. Decker Coal Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 805 F.2d 834, 843 (9th
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Cir. 1986).
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In general, “[t]he defendant must make a strong showing of inconvenience to warrant
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upsetting the plaintiff’s choice of forum.” Decker Coal, 805 F.2d at 843. However, “[t]he
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degree to which courts defer to the plaintiff’s chosen venue is substantially reduced where the
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plaintiff’s venue choice is not its residence or where the forum chosen lacks a significant
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connection to the activities alleged in the complaint.” Center for Biological Diversity v.
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Lubchenco, 2009 WL 4545169 at *4 (N.D. Cal. 2009) (unreported decision). See also Pacific
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Car & Foundry Co. v. Pence, 403 F.2d 949, 954 (9th Cir. 1968) (“If the operative facts have not
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occurred within the forum of original selection and that forum has no particular interest in the
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parties or the subject matter, the plaintiff’s choice is entitled to only minimal consideration.”).
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B. Important Factors in this Case
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Though both Plaintiffs and Defendant have factors weighing in their favor, on balance the
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court finds that transfer to the Northern District of Illinois will better serve convenience and the
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interest of justice.
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1. Plaintiffs’ Choice of Forum
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The parties agree that because Plaintiffs seek to represent a class in this litigation, their
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choice of forum is given less weight than it would be given in a typical case. Lou v. Belzberg,
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834 F.2d 730, 739 (9th Cir. 1987) (explaining that while “great weight is generally accorded
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plaintiff’s choice of forum,” less weight is accorded to that choice if they represent a class);
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Rafton v. Rydex Series Funds, 2010 WL 2629579 at *2 (N.D. Cal. 2010). Further, as explained
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above, Plaintiffs’ choice of forum is given less deference because this district has no connection
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to the parties or events that occurred in Illinois. See Pacific Car & Foundry Co., 403 F.2d at 954.
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Plaintiffs point out that they have not filed the case in this district in order to gain a procedural
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advantage, but only because the California Plaintiffs’ claims are also pending here. While that
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may be true, the nature of Plaintiffs’ motive does not alter the fact that the Illinois Plaintiffs have
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little or no connection to California, and thus does not persuade the court to accord Plaintiffs’
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choice of forum more weight. In sum, while the Plaintiffs’ choice of forum will be considered in
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the court’s calculus, it will not be granted significant deference.
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2. Familiarity with Governing Law
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JCP’s motion urges the court to transfer the case because an Illinois court would be better
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equipped to decide claims under Illinois law. Plaintiffs’ opposition argues that because
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California and Illinois laws are almost identical on the subject at hand, this factor does not weigh
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in favor of trying the case in Illinois. The parties devote a significant portion of their briefs to
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discussing case law and pointing out the similarities and distinctions that exist between the
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states’ case law authority.
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First, the court notes that performing the inquiry requested by Plaintiffs may be
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somewhat imprudent: in order to determine whether the laws are indeed identical in all
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situations that could arise in this litigation, the court would be required to look deeply into
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Illinois case law. If the court were to master Illinois law sufficiently to decide at this point
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whether Illinois law and California law are identical, it would necessarily be similarly equipped
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to decide issues of Illinois law regardless of whether the laws are identical.
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As demonstrated by the briefs, Plaintiffs are undoubtedly correct that at least the states’
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laws are similar, but this threshold consideration does not establish that a California court would
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be necessarily adept at applying Illinois law. At this stage the parties have not yet advanced the
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totality of their legal arguments, and it is therefore uncertain whether each state’s precedent
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would call for identical conclusions. Without more factual development, the court cannot even
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be certain that JCP’s policy was applied in the same manner in both states. Thus, it is premature
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at this juncture to gauge this court’s capacity to apply Illinois law to Illinois circumstances with
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the same knowledge and judgment as an Illinois court. Despite this current uncertainty, the court
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notes that federal judges frequently examine the laws of other states without great moment or
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angst. Given this consideration, the fact that an Illinois court might be able to decide this case
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more skillfully weighs only slightly in favor of transfer.
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3. Convenience of Witnesses and Evidence and Judicial Economy
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The parties also disagree about the level of inconvenience that will be created if the
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Illinois claims are tried in this district. JCP argues that the existence of documentary evidence in
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other areas will create inconvenience and that it would be difficult for the court to perform long-
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distance supervision of any injunctive relief that might be granted. These concerns are valid, but
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JCP has not made a strong showing that it would be difficult to produce electronic records or
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transport paper documents to California. Further, the necessity of significant hands-on oversight
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of any injunction is mere speculation at this point and seems rather unlikely.
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Of more concern is the inconvenience that may be caused by requiring witnesses to travel
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because of the litigation. On this point, Plaintiffs maintain that the interpretation of this contract
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is principally a judicial function. While much of this litigation may hinge on questions of law,
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that does not foreclose the possibility that witnesses will be necessary to testify as to JCP’s
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practices in Illinois and California. And while JCP may have overstated the risk as to the
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number of people that may be required to travel if the case were to remain in this district, a
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potential for significant witness inconvenience would arise if the case were to remain in this
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district.
Relatedly, the court notes that substantial discovery will be necessary for the litigation of
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this case. Such discovery will undoubtedly be centered on the JCP stores in which Plaintiffs
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have worked. Managing that discovery is often a hands-on task that requires constant
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supervision by the court. Thus, even though some judicial resources might be saved by
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consolidating the cases into one district, such savings likely could be outweighed by the
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difficulty of long-distance management of discovery in Illinois.
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4. Site of Events Giving Rise to Case
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While none of the factors above weigh heavily in one direction or another, the fact that
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all of the Illinois Plaintiffs’ claims arise out of events that occurred in Illinois unequivocally
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creates a public interest in trying the case in Illinois. Without strong considerations weighing on
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the other side of the balance, there is little logic behind requiring this district to expend its
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resources or require jurors to decide claims of Illinois residents that arose in Illinois. See Decker
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Coal Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 805 F.2d 834, 843 (9th Cir. 1986).
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III. CONCLUSION
The Illinois Plaintiffs had little reason to file in California other than the fact that this
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case was already pending on behalf of the California Plaintiffs. Thus, the Plaintiffs’ choice of
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forum is not controlling. While trying the claims together could preserve some resources, those
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savings would likely be outweighed by other inefficiencies that would be created. Further, a
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California court and California jurors have little interest in taking on a case with no relation to
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this district. Consequently, Defendant’s motion is GRANTED; the claims of the Illinois
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Plaintiffs are hereby severed and transferred to the Northern District of Illinois.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: April 27, 2012
___________________________
Jeffrey T. Miller
United States District Judge
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