November 27, 2007

Since we've had numerous occasions to note plaintiff's lawyers' propensity to forum-shop product liability (as well as intellectual property) cases into the courts of Marshall, Texas, it's only fair to point out that a recent opinion by a Fifth Circuit panel may slow that trend. Texas Lawyer has details of the Oct. 25 mandamus opinion In Re: Volkswagen of America Inc., in which the panel ruled that U.S. District Judge T. John Ward abused his discretion by not granting a motion by Volkswagen to transfer venue to another district in the suit, which arose from an accident in Dallas, but was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, 150 miles away. More on Marshall and auto suits here, here, etc.