Kasowitz Defeats General Motors’ Motion to Transfer Patent Case From Texas to Michigan

In a patent case on behalf of Intellectual Ventures, Kasowitz Benson Torres has defeated General Motors’ motion to transfer venue of Intellectual Ventures LLC and Intellectual Ventures II LLC v. General Motors Company and General Motors LLC from the Western District of Texas to the Eastern District of Michigan.  The initial complaint in the action, filed in the Western District of Texas, alleges that General Motors infringed Intellectual Ventures’ patents primarily associated with smart car features.  The case will now proceed to discovery.  

In his November 3, 2022 decision denying the motion originally sealed, but made public on November 17, 2022, Judge Alan D. Albright considered the private and public interest factors in favor of transferring the case, finding that that “[f]our factors are neutral, local interest slightly favors transfer, access to sources of proof slightly favors transfer, availability of compulsory process weighs slightly against transfer, and the court-congestion factor weighs slightly against transfer” concluding therefore that GM did not show that the Eastern District of Michigan was clearly more convenient than the Western District of Texas.

The Kasowitz Benson Torres team representing Intellectual Ventures is led by partner Jonathan K. Waldrop, and includes partners Marcus Barber and John Downing and Special Counsel ThuchMinh Nguyen.