Universal Secure Registry LLC v. Apple Inc.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE UNIVERSAL SECURE REGISTRY, ) LLC, ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. Civ. No. 17-585-CFC-SRF APPLE INC., VISA INC. and VISA U.S.A., INC., ) Defendants.

ORDER At Wilmington this Twenty-fifth day of June in 2020: WHEREAS, Defendants moved to transfer this action to the Northern District of California (D.1.21); WHEREAS, in a Report and Recommendation (D.I. 137) issued pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b), the Magistrate Judge recommended that the Court deny Defendants’ motion to transfer; WHEREAS, Defendants filed objections to that recommendation (D.I.

147); WHEREAS, a motion to transfer is not a dispositive motion for purposes of § 636(b)(1) and is reviewed under the deferential “clearly erroneous or contrary to law” standard set forth in § 636(b)(1)(A), Agincourt Gaming LLC v. Zynga Inc., No. CV 11-720-RGA, 2013 WL 3936508, at *2 (D. Del. July 29, 2013); and WHEREAS, the Court has reviewed the Report and Recommendation and Defendants’ objections and concurs with the Magistrate Judge’s determination that, considered in their totality, the factors set forth in Jumara v. State Farm, Ins. Co., 55 F.3d 873 (3d Cir. 1995), weigh against transfer;!

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. The Magistrate Judge’s recommendation that the Court deny the transfer motion is ADOPTED; 2. Defendants’ objections to the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation that the Court deny the transfer motion are OVERRULED; and 3. Defendants’ motion to transfer (D.I. 21) is DENIED.

lh. F ' The Court notes that Plaintiff's forum choice should have been given “paramount consideration” and, therefore, that its choice of venue weighed strongly, as opposed to slightly, against transfer. See Realtime Data LLC v. Egnyte, Inc., 2018 WL 5724040 (D. Del. Nov. 1, 2018); VLSI Tech LLC v. Intel Corp., 2018 WL 5342650 (D. Del. Oct 29, 2018).