Visalus, Inc. v. Then et al

Filing 13

ORDER granting 11 Motion to transfer venue. The Clerk of Court is directed to transfer this case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division. Signed by Judge William T. Moore, Jr on 3/6/13. (wwp)

C,

E - i•

I ILL.J

U.S. DiSTR,'
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
L 1I3fiM-5
SAVANNAH DIVISION

VISALLTS, INC.,

CL

Plaintiff,
V

CASE NO. CV413028

.

AMBER THEN and OCEAN AVENUE
LLC,
Defendants.

ORDER

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Transfer
Venue. (Doc. 11.) In the motion, Defendants seek to
transfer this case to the Middle District of Florida,
Jacksonville Division, where three similar and related
matters are already pending. (Id. at 2.) Plaintiff does
not object to the motion.

(Doc. 12.)

After careful

consideration, Defendants' motion is GRANTED.
28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) allows a district court, in the
interest of justice and for the convenience of the parties
and witnesses, to transfer any civil action to a district
where it might have been originally brought. As a
preliminary matter, Defendants have made the requisite
showing that the action could have been brought in the
Middle District of Florida—Defendant Then is a resident of
Jacksonville, Florida and Defendant Ocean Avenue regularly
conducts business within Florida.

Still, after this threshold determination is satisfied,
transfer becomes a discretionary matter to be decided by the
Court after consideration of the convenience of the parties
and witnesses and in the interests of justice. See Steward
Org. v. Ricoh Corp., 487 U.S. 22, 29 (1988). Here, transfer
is justified under § 1404(a) because of trial efficiency,
the interests of justice, and the totality of the
circumstances that weigh in favor of transfer. There are
three related matters pending in the Middle District of
Florida involving alleged breach of similar non-solicitation
and non-compete agreements. The parties also agree that it
would be more convenient to transfer the case. The Court
agrees that the discretionary factors weigh in favor of
transfer.
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion is
GRANTED.

is DIRECTED

The Clerk of Court

case to the

United States District

to TRANSFER this

Court for

District of Florida, Jacksonville Division.

the Middle

Following

transfer, the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to close this case.
SO ORDERED this

day of March 2013.

WILLIAM T. MOORE,
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

2