5th Circuit May Stop Patent Troll "Forum Shopping" 76
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Why is a 5th Circuit product liability case getting interest from lawyers all over the country? Because it might put an end to forum shopping by 'non practicing entities' (patent trolls) who prefer to file in the Eastern District of Texas, no matter how little relevance that forum has to their case. Thanks to the rules involving 28 U.S.C. 1404(a) motions and patent cases, people who get sued in Marshall, Texas usually can't get the case transferred elsewhere, even though that forum is seen as unreasonably favorable for patent plaintiffs. But, if the panel of judges in In Re: Volkswagen rules the way some anticipate, that could all change, and there are no less than six amici curiae who have filed briefs arguing both sides of it."
Updated headline (Score:2, Funny)
New order of business (Score:5, Funny)
2. Patent trolls, realizing this, all move to Marshall, TX so they may continue such practice.
3. Marshall has a massive upsurge in interest to the area with all these "big name businesses" moving in.
4. Marshall expands its city services (etc, etc) to accommodate.
5. Patent troll companies that moved to Marshall prove to be shells, not contributing to the city much at all.
6. Marshall collapses under new bogus businesses.
7. ???
8. Profit!
the system is very broken (Score:5, Funny)
"It could hurt lawyers all over the state," especially in Dallas, which has a large contingent of firms that practice in the Eastern District, says Michael C. Smith, a partner in the Marshall office of Siebman Reynolds Burg Phillips & Smith who represents the plaintiffs.
Re:Both sides? (Score:3, Funny)
Or is the summary just incoherent, and they really meant to say "either side".
You're being overly pedantic. The sentence parses just fine as:
"There are no less than six amici curiae who have filed briefs, arguing [among them] both sides of it."
And, as someone else pointed out, and to let you know that pedantry is pretty much de rigeur on ./, the singular is amicus curiae, or "friend of the court".
(De rigeur is French. It translates roughly as "according to protocol".)
(Also, the initial sentence is incorrect in a different way: it should read "no fewer than six".)
(Yes, I'm being a jackass on purpose.)