On January 14, 2013, AT&T obtained a severance and an order transferring a patent infringement case in which it is a defendant to the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. Specifically, Judge Schneider, of the Eastern District of Texas, issued an opinion (available here) involving AT&T and plaintiff (GeoTag). GeoTag has its principal place of business within the Eastern District of Texas, in Frisco, Texas. GeoTag opposed transfer, arguing that AT&T cannot show that the Northern District of Texas is a clearly more convenient forum.
Judge Schneider disagreed, finding that the Northern District of Texas was clearly more convenient than the Eastern District of Texas. Of note, Judge Schneider indicated that the litigation involved over 100 cases against in excess of 400 defendants, all of whom were accused of infringing the same patent. GeoTag argued that having a single court familiar with the facts and legal issues would produce significant gains in judicial economy, but Judge Schneider disagreed. Judge Schneider found that none of the cases involves the same accused services, and that he would not permit the existence of separately filed cases to sway his transfer analysis given that, otherwise, a plaintiff could manipulate venue by serially filing cases within a single district, and this would undermine the principles underpinning transfer law and the recently enacted America Invents Act.
GeoTag is represented by David Bennett, of Direction IP; Charles Tadlock and Keith Smiley, both of the Tadlock Law Firm; and Mark Zimmerman, of Dealy Zimmerman Clark Malouf & MacFarlane, PC.
AT&T is represented by Benjamin Johnson, Chad Walters, Christopher Kennerly, Tim Durst, and Susan Kennedy, all of Baker Botts LLP; and Michael Smith, of Siebman Burg Phillips & Smith, LLP.