Interdigital Inc. et al v. Wistron Corporation

Filing 13

MEMORANDUM ORDER GRANTING re 5 Emergency MOTION to Remand to Delaware's Court of Chancery filed by Interdigital Inc., IPR Licensing Inc., Interdigital Patent Holding Inc., Interdigital Technology Corporation. Signed by Judge Leonard P. Stark on 6/18/2015. (rpg)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
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INTERDIGIT AL, INC., a Pennsylvania
corporation, INTERDIGIT AL
TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a
Delaware corporation; IPR LICENSING,
INC., a Delaware corporation; and
INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDING,
INC., a Delaware corporation,
Plaintiffs,

v.
WISTRON CORPORATION, a
Taiwanese corporation,
Defendant.

C.A. No. 15-478-LPS

MEMORANDUM ORDER
For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs, InterDigital, Inc., InterDigital Technology
Corporation, IPR Licensing, Inc., and InterDigital Patent Holding, Inc.' s ("Plaintiffs")
Emergency Motion to Remand this matter to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware
(D.I. 5) is hereby GRANTED.
1. On June 5, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a verified complaint in the Court of Chancery of the
State of Delaware ("the Chancery action") against Wistron Corporation ("Defendant"). (Id. at I)
In the Chancery action, Plaintiffs seek a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and
permanent injunction to prevent Defendant from advancing suit filed in the Intellectual Property
Court of Taiwan. (Id.) On June 11, 2015, Defendant filed a Notice of Removal, which brought
the Chancery action to this Court. (D.I. 1)
2. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), a defendant may remove a civil action from state
court to a federal court in which the action could have been filed originally; that is, where the

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federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over the action. See also Caterpillar Inc. v.
Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392 (1987). "[T]he party asserting federal jurisdiction in a removal case

bears the burden of showing, at all stages of the litigation, that the case is properly before the
federal court." Frederico v. Home Depot, 507 F.3d 188, 193 (3d Cir. 2007); see also Brown v.
Jevic, 575 F.3d 322, 326 (3d Cir. 2009). Removal provisions "are to be strictly construed against

removal and all doubts should be resolved in favor ofremand." Boyer v. Snap-On Tools Corp.,
913 F.2d 108, 111 (3d Cir. 1990) (internal citations omitted).
3. Plaintiffs and Defendant are parties to a Patent Licensing Agreement ("PLA"), and
their dispute over whether this Court should remand arises from the PLA's forum selection
clause contained in Section 6.10. (D.I. 5 at 4; D.I. 8 at 5) The forum selection clause recites:
6.10 Governing LawNenue. The validity and interpretation of this
Agreement shall be governed by Delaware law, without regard to
conflict oflaws principles. The Parties irrevocably consent to
exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts in
the State of Delaware (i) to the extent a dispute arising under this
Agreement cannot be properly brought before an Arbitration Panel
(e.g., a request for a TRO or a judgment upon an arbitral award(s),
which the parties agree may be entered by such court), and (ii) such
dispute can be properly brought before the state or federal courts in
the state of Delaware.
(D.I. 2; D.I. 5 at 4; D.I. 8 at 5) Fundamentally, the Emergency Motion to Remand turns on
whether the PLA's provision- whereby the parties "irrevocably consent to exclusive
jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts in the State ofDelaware " - constitutes a

waiver of the right to remove to federal court if a party files suit in a Delaware state court.
4. The Court agrees with Plaintiff that this language at least arguably constitutes a
contractual waiver of the parties' right to remove should the other party to the PLA choose to file
in Delaware state court. See generally Foster v. Chesapeake Ins. Co., 933 F.2d 1207, 1217 (3d
Cir. 1991) ("[B]yconsentingto 'submit' to 'any court' of competent jurisdiction ... and to
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comply with all requirements necessary to give 'such court' jurisdiction, [Defendant] agreed to
go to, and stay in, the forum chosen by [Plaintiff]."); Carlyle Inv. Management, L.L.C. v. Carlyle
Capital Corp. Ltd., 800 F. Supp. 2d 639, 644 (D. Del., 2011) ("[The] burden is a high one when

seeking to avoid a forum selection clause."). In the context of a dispute over removal, where the
Court must resolve all doubts in favor ofremand, the Court is unpersuaded by Defendant's
contention that the absence of the word "waiver" from Section 6.10 is decisive. See Boyer, 913
F.2d at 111. To the contrary, it would seem odd for parties who "irrevocably consent" to sue one
another (if at all) in Delaware federal or state court to also agree that they can challenge (by way
ofremoval) each others' decision to file in Delaware state court. At minimum, there is no
affirmative indication in the PLA that this is what the parties intended.
5. Much of Defendant's opposition to Plaintiffs' request for removal consists of
premature contentions about the merits of the parties' underlying disputes and allusions to
notions of "international comity." (See, e.g., D.I. 8 at 2-3) Defendant cites no authority for the
proposition that these considerations should be accorded any weight in the analysis of a removal
motion. Moreover, even assuming (without deciding) that Plaintiffs are exaggerating the
prejudice they are suffering from Defendant's removal of the Chancery action and from
Defendant's initiation oflitigation in Taiwan, the Court perceives no reason to exercise whatever
discretion it has to keep this matter here rather than remand. 1

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Defendant appears to concede that the issue before the Court is one committed to the
Court's discretion. (See D.I. 8 at 4)
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6. The Court will deny Plaintiffs' requests for fees and costs. Here, "remand is a
particularly appropriate and effective remedy for [any possible] wrong." Foster, 933 F.2d at
1216.

HONORABLE LEONARD P. STARK
UNITED STA TES DISTRICT JUDGE

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