General Signal Corp. v. Western Electric Co., Inc., 73 C 315.
| Decision Date | 10 August 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 73 C 315.,73 C 315. |
| Citation | 362 F. Supp. 878 |
| Parties | GENERAL SIGNAL CORP., Plaintiff, v. WESTERN ELECTRIC CO., INC., and Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Berton Scott Sheppard, Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann, Ltd., Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.
Roy E. Hofer, Hume, Clement, Brinks, Willian, Olds & Cook, Ltd., Chicago, Ill., for defendant.
This cause comes on defendants' alternative motions (1) to reconsider this Court's denial of their motion to transfer, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), or (2) to dismiss defendant Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Bell") for lack of jurisdiction, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The action is in two counts: Count I, arising under the patent laws of the United States, alleges that defendants1 infringed plaintiff's patent for an "Apparatus Correcting Distortion in Wave-Signal Translating Channels". Count II, a pendent claim for unfair competition within the purview of 28 U.S.C. § 1338(b), charges that defendants converted and misappropriated technical information relating to plaintiff's patent. The gravamen of the complaint is that defendant Bell allegedly retained copies of plaintiff's technical materials without plaintiff's permission, used them in designing its own apparatus, and turned them over to defendant Western Electric Company, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Western") for the manufacture of Type 203 Data Sets, the devices accused as infringing plaintiff's patent.
The bases for this Court's previous denial of transfer were (1) that no authority transferring a patent infringement action away from the district of manufacture had been submitted and (2) that the Southern District of New York had an extremely congested docket, especially by comparison with that of this Court. In support of their motion for reconsideration, defendants have cited such authority and have indicated their willingness to have the cause transferred to the Eastern District of New York.
The statute governing change of venue is 28 U.S.C. § 1404, which provides in pertinent part as follows:
"(a) For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought."
At the outset, it is clear that the instant case could have been brought in the Eastern District of New York under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b):
"Any civil action for patent infringement may be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business."
Since both defendents are incorporated in the State of New York, they are deemed to reside in that state. See Fourco Glass Company v. Transmirra Products Corporation, 353 U.S. 222, 226, 77 S.Ct. 787, 790, 1 L.Ed.2d 786 (1957). An examination of the relevant case authority reveals that the only potential venue problem with a defendant incorporated in the forum state occurs when the defendant has a place of business elsewhere in the state but not within the forum district. See Hydro-Clear Corporation v. Aer-O-Flo Corporation, 317 F. Supp. 1317 (N.D.Ohio 1970). That situation applies to neither of the instant defendants. Bell, having no facilities within the State of New York, can be sued in any district in that state; Western, selling the accused products from its established place of business in the Eastern District, is subject to suit in that district.
The Eastern District of New York appears to be just as convenient for the parties and witnesses as the Southern District of New York. Moreover, the latter court's docket is considerably more congested than that of either this Court or the Eastern District Court. Thus, since venue is proper in the Eastern District, the interest of justice would indicate that that is the appropriate forum for this action if New York is more convenient than Illinois.
While the Court agrees with plaintiff that its choice of forum is entitled to considerable weight, Swanson v. Badger Mutual Insurance Co., 275 F. Supp. 544 (N.D.Ill.1967), it notes that convenience of parties and witnesses is given primary consideration in the statute 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). Accordingly, the Court will consider plaintiff's choice as but one factor in the determination of convenience. See Norwood v. Kirkpatrick, 349 U.S. 29, 75 S.Ct. 544, 99 L.Ed. 789 (1955...
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