The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a writ of mandamus to Google, L.L.C., overturning a district court's refusal to transfer venue. The court held that the district court plainly abused its discretion in balancing the factors governing transfer.
Google, L.L.C. petitioned for a writ of mandamus challenging the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’s refusal to transfer a lawsuit filed against it by Branch Metrics, Inc. to the Northern District of California.
The court’s reasoning
The court agreed with Google that the district court plainly abused its discretion in the calculation and balancing of the factors governing transfer.
The dissent
What it means going forward
The mandate issued forthwith, requiring the district court to transfer the case to the Northern District of California.
