VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation

Filing 448

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART 429 Opposed Motion To Transfer Remaining Cases Back To Waco. Signed by Judge Alan D Albright. (lt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
AUSTIN DIVISION

VLSI TECHNOLOGY LLC,
Plaintiff,

Lead Case: 1:19-cv-977-ADA
Nos. 6:19-cv-255-ADA, 6:19-cv-256ADA

v.

(Consolidated for pretrial purposes only
with 6:19-cv-254-ADA)

INTEL CORPORATION,
Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF VLSI
TECHNOLOGY LLC’S OPPOSED MOTION TO TRANFER REMAINING CASES
BACK TO WACO PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a)
On December 31, 2020, the Court granted Plaintiff VLSI Technology LLC's
("VLSI") motion to transfer the lead case between the parties back to the Waco division. D.I. 408
at 11.

The Court found that the indefinite closure of the Austin courthouse due to

COVID-19 was an unanticipatable event that frustrated the purpose of the Court’s prior order
transferring the three related cases between the parties from Waco to Austin, and that under the
facts and circumstances now presented before the Court, the interests of justice and the
convenience of the parties and witnesses favor moving the lead case set for trial in February back
to Waco. Id. at 10-11. Since the Court made those findings, the COVID-19 infection rate in
Waco has improved materially, while the Austin courthouse closure has been extended and
the Austin courthouse remains closed indefinitely for trials. In addition, since the Court
transferred the lead case back to Waco, the Court and the parties have invested significant time
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and resources in developing and implementing COVID-19 safety protocols at the Waco
courthouse.
VLSI has now moved the Court to transfer the two related cases back to Waco as well. The
first of those cases is set for trial on April 12. The second is set for trial on June 7. D.I. 427. Having
read and considered the parties’ submissions and the record in this case, the Court now finds that the
factors the Court considered and applied in re-transferring the lead case to Waco apply
equally strongly in favor of transferring the first of these two related cases back to Waco. The
Court’s prior findings regarding this issue are incorporated herein by reference.

D.I. 408.

Accordingly, the Court finds that VLSI’s motion is well taken and should be granted in part
and denied in part.

After considering and applying the Cragar decision and the

Volkswagen II factors to the facts and circumstances presented here, the public interest and the
convenience of the parties and witnesses will be served by transferring the first action (-255) back
to the Waco division, where it was originally filed. The Court will address re-transferring the final
case (-256) as the trial date approaches and the Austin Courthouse has an opportunity to reopen. It
is, therefore,
ORDERED that VLSI’s Opposed Motion To Transfer Remaining Cases Back To Waco
Pursuant To 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) is hereby GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.
March
28th
SIGNED this ____ day of ________, 2021.

ALAN D. ALBRIGHT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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