Federal Circuit grants ML mandamus petition – reverses transfer of patent cases from Texas to California
In a victory for ML client Stingray IP Solutions, the Federal Circuit issued a writ of mandamus vacating the Eastern District of Texas’s transfer of two patent cases to the Central District of California. The Federal Circuit’s decision resolves a longstanding conflict among district courts regarding personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(k)(2). Defendants, it held, cannot defeat personal jurisdiction under Rule 4(k)(2) by consenting to suit in another forum. ML’s Jeffrey Lamken, Lucas Walker, Lauren Dayton, and Walter Hawes litigated the case before the Federal Circuit. Read the mandamus petition, reply, and opinion.