Delaware corporations always face an uphill battle when moving to transfer. In patent cases, most of the transfer factors tend to be neutral, and the plaintiff's choice of forum is given significant weight. So it's important to make a strong showing on the handful of factors where a defendant can move the needle.
Judge Noreika recently denied a Delaware corporation's transfer motion in Sentient Sensors, LLC v. Cypress Semiconductor Corp., C.A. No. 19-1868-MN (D. Del. July 6, 2020). In addressing the fourth transfer factor (convenience of the parties), she noted that "Defendant argues that transferring to the Northern District of California would be more convenient 'for the reasons discussed throughout [Defendant's] brief.'" She began by commenting on the defendant's briefing shortcut:
Making a reference to the contents of its brief in general fails to make the requisite showing that litigating here presents a unique or unusual burden on Defendant.
She still addressed this factor on the merits, but was "unable to conclude that Defendant cannot shoulder the burden of litigating here instead or that this would present some unique hardship on Defendant." As she explained in a footnote:
Defendant made no attempt to show that litigating here would present a unique or unexpected hardship on its operations (e.g., diverting resources, etc.) so how could the Court conclude otherwise.
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