Insight & Commentary on Texas Appellate Law
In a closely-watched case, the Supreme Court greatly narrowed venue for patent cases. The ruling will limit forum shopping and greatly reduce the number of cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas, which is perceived as the most favorable district for plaintiffs bringing patent claims.
In recent years as many as much as 30-40%…
If you’ve got a venue selection clause and you are wondering whether you can file in state or federal court, or whether you can remove a state-filed case to federal court, you might look at the Fifth Circuit‘s opinion in Alliance Health Group LLC v. Bridging Health Options LLC.
The venue clause in this case provided that "exclusive venue for any litigation related hereto shall occur in Harrison County, Mississippi." The Court held that the particular language of this clause and the fact that Harrison County, Mississippi has a federal courthouse in that county permits venue in federal court. Significantly, the Court discusses a number of other permutations to the language in venue clauses and draws distinctions that may be of use to practitioners.
For your convenience, I’ve extracted from the court’s opinion its commentary on some of the permutations of venue selection language and what result attaches to the language.Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Discusses Venue Selection Clauses
In a case involving application of the mandatory venue provision in section 15.011 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the Dallas Court of Appeals held that a suit to remove a lis pendens constitutes an action to quiet title. The Court, therefore, held that "[o]nce it is demonstrated that the court’s judgment would have…
"The overarching question before the en banc Court is whether a writ of mandamus should issue directing the transfer of this case from the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas–which has no connection to the parties, the witnesses, or the facts of this case–to the Dallas Division of the Northern District of…
