The District Court for the Northern District of California granted defendant U-Dig-It’s Motion to Transfer on Monday, greatly reducing the financial and logistical strain of litigation on Turner Boyd’s client.

The lawsuit is one of a recent spate of patent false marking lawsuits that have been filling dockets around the country.  U-Dig-It, an Idahoan family owned business that owned a now-expired patent, had no ties to the California.  Turner Boyd had acted as local counsel in the matter and argued the brief for lead counsel Elizabeth Schierman on October 22nd.

Notably, the court’s order joins a growing body of case law that recognizes that a plaintiff’s choice of forum in false marking cases is entitled to lessened deference.  The order noted that, while the plaintiff’s choice of forum is usually entitled to deference, “this principle does not hold nearly as strongly when the plaintiff is a qui tam relator asserting the rights of the federal government.”

The motion was argued by James Beard.