Its going to be a short post tonight because I'm writing a brief and a Minnesota team looks like it may fail to disappoint me in the playoffs for the first time ever.
Thankfully today we got an argument about venue that I had never seen before. I mean, It's been 8 years since TC Heartland -- its really pretty nuts that you can still see something new.
The case was Institute for Environmental Health, Inc. v. National Beef Packing Company, LLC, C.A. No. 23-826-JS (D. Del. May 16, 2024). Defendant was moving to transfer, and before addressing the usual Jumara factors, the court addressed the threshold question of whether venue was proper in Delaware.
Defendant—and this is the weird part—argued that it did not reside in Delaware because, it was a Delaware LLC, rather than a corporation. The Court disagreed:
Defendant argues that as an LLC it is unincorporated, and thus under TC Heartland, LLC, it does not “reside” in Delaware because it was not “incorporated” in Delaware. However, Defendant was organized as an LLC under Delaware law and therefore for purposes of venue resides in Delaware. Further, other federal district courts have held that an LLC resides in the state in which it was organized . . . Accordingly, venue is proper in the District of Delaware.
Id. at 7-8 (internal citations omitted).
As near as I can tell this is the first time a party has made this argument in Delaware. Judging by the decision, I don't expect to see too many more, but I do appreciate the easy post.
...
Go Wolves!
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