McDonald Apiary, LLC v. Starrh Bees, Inc., et al

Filing 32

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER granting 10 Plaintiff's Motion to Change Place of Trial to the North Platte Division. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart. (JAB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
MCDONALD APIARY, LLC, a Nebraska
Limited Liability Company;
8:14CV351
Plaintiff,
vs.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

STARRH BEES, INC., a California
Corporation; et. al,
Defendants.
This action was initially filed in the District Court of Sheridan County, Nebraska.
The defendant removed the action to federal court, and it was placed on the Omaha trial
docket. (Filing No. 1). Plaintiff McDonald Apiary, LLC has moved to change the trial
location to North Platte, Nebraska. (Filing No. 10).

The plaintiff filed an amended

complaint requesting trial in North Platte. (Filing No. 6). For the reasons discussed
below, the plaintiff’s motion will be granted, and this case will be tried in North Platte,
Nebraska.
Under the court’s local rules, when deciding the place of trial “the judge shall
consider the convenience of litigants, witnesses and counsel,” NECivR. 40.1(b)(1), with
the convenience of the litigants and witnesses generally afforded greater weight than the
convenience of counsel.

Bank of Beaver City v. Southwest Feeders, L.L.C., No.

4:10CV3209, 2011 WL 116863, at *1 (D. Neb. Jan. 13, 2011).

The plaintiff is a business owned and operated by Ed McDonald and Susan
McDonald. The McDonalds are Colorado citizens. The principal place of McDonald
Apiary’s business is located in Hay Springs, Nebraska, but it has operations in other parts
of Nebraska, including in Gordon, Nebraska and Lisco, Nebraska.

The testifying

employees for the plaintiff reside in Hay Springs, Gordon, and Lisco. Hay Springs is 212

miles from North Platte, and over 400 miles from Omaha; Lisco is 110 miles from North
Platte, and 385 miles from Omaha; Gordon is 191 miles from North Platte, and 386 miles
from Omaha. (Filing No. 12-1, at CM/ECF p. 3).

The defendants and their identified witnesses are from the Central Valley area of
California. The defendants assert a trial in North Platte will be inconvenient because the
flights from California to North Platte are both scarce and expensive when compared to
Omaha. Defendant Starr Bees owns real estate in Lincoln County, Nebraska. (Filing No.
17-1). North Platte is located in Lincoln County, Nebraska, and is 280 miles from the
Omaha airport, and 224 miles from the airport in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The plaintiff has counsel from both Omaha and Alliance, Nebraska; defense
counsel is from Omaha.

Having considered the convenience of litigants, witnesses, and counsel as
supported by the evidence of record, the court finds that, on balance, North Platte is the
proper location for the trial of this case. Whether the case is tried in North Platte or in
Omaha, the defendants will be flying to Nebraska, and staying in Nebraska overnight, for
trial. If the defendants choose to fly into Omaha or Lincoln (rather than North Platte),
and then drive to North Platte, their highway time will be equivalent, or not significantly
greater than, the time incurred by the plaintiff’s owners and witnesses. In other words,
subtracting the flight time the defendants will inevitably incur, North Platte is the middle
ground for the parties and the witnesses they have identified.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED:
1)

The plaintiff’s motion to change the trial location, (Filing No. 10), is
granted.

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2)

The trial of this case will be held in North Platte, Nebraska.

Dated this 11th day of February, 2015
BY THE COURT:
s/ Cheryl R. Zwart
United States Magistrate Judge

*This opinion may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web sites. The U.S. District Court for the District of
Nebraska does not endorse, recommend, approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they
provide on their Web sites. Likewise, the court has no agreements with any of these third parties or their Web sites.
The court accepts no responsibility for the availability or functionality of any hyperlink. Thus, the fact that a
hyperlink ceases to work or directs the user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the court.

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