In Re ACCESSIBE LTD. ( 2021 )


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  • Case: 22-113    Document: 16     Page: 1    Filed: 12/06/2021
    NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.
    United States Court of Appeals
    for the Federal Circuit
    ______________________
    In re: ACCESSIBE LTD.,
    Petitioner
    ______________________
    2022-113
    ______________________
    On Petition for Writ of Mandamus to the United States
    District Court for the Western District of Texas in No. 6:20-
    cv-00997-ADA, Judge Alan D. Albright.
    ______________________
    ON PETITION
    ______________________
    Before DYK, REYNA, and CHEN, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM.
    ORDER
    accessiBe Ltd. petitions for a writ of mandamus direct-
    ing the United States District Court for the Western Dis-
    trict of Texas to vacate its November 3, 2021 order denying
    transfer and to transfer this matter to the United States
    District Court for the Western District of New York. Audi-
    oEye, Inc. opposes the petition. accessiBe replies.
    AudioEye brought this suit in the Western District of
    Texas against accessiBe, asserting patent infringement
    claims, Lanham Act claims of false advertising and product
    disparagement, and New York state law claims of product
    Case: 22-113    Document: 16      Page: 2    Filed: 12/06/2021
    2                                       IN RE: ACCESSIBE LTD.
    disparagement, slander/defamation, tortious interference
    with prospective economic advantage, deceptive business
    practices, and unjust enrichment. AudioEye’s complaint
    alleges, among other things, that accessiBe made false,
    misleading, and disparaging statements regarding Audio-
    Eye’s products and services to two companies located in the
    Western District of New York and an unnamed “consumer
    in New York.” Appx0082 at ¶¶ 184, 189; see Pet. at 6.
    accessiBe moved to transfer the case under 28 U.S.C.
    § 1404(a) to the Western District of New York. On Novem-
    ber 3, 2021, the district court denied the motion. The dis-
    trict court found that accessiBe had failed to establish that
    this action “might have been brought” in the transferee
    venue. § 1404(a). More specifically, the district court
    found that accessiBe had “not met or even attempted to
    meet its burden with respect to the [Western District of
    New York]’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over accessiBe
    for any, much less all, of the claims at issue here.”
    Appx0003. Having found that the threshold requirement
    for transfer had not been established, the district court did
    not analyze the relevant private and public transfer fac-
    tors. accessiBe then filed this petition, contending that the
    district court violated the party presentation rule because
    there was no disagreement between the parties that the
    transferee venue had personal jurisdiction over accessiBe.
    To obtain mandamus relief, this court must be satisfied
    that a petitioner has no “adequate alternative” means to
    obtain the desired relief. Mallard v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for the
    S. Dist. of Iowa, 
    490 U.S. 296
    , 309 (1989). Here, we cannot
    say that it would be futile for accessiBe to ask the district
    court to first reconsider its decision in light of its argu-
    ments. See In re BigCommerce, Inc., 
    890 F.3d 978
    , 982
    (Fed. Cir. 2018); In re Nat. Oilwell Varco, L.P., 2015-140,
    
    2015 WL 10936642
     at *2 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 7, 2015) (collecting
    cases). We therefore deny the petition without prejudice to
    refiling after accessiBe first asks the district court for re-
    consideration. Any new petition for a writ of mandamus
    Case: 22-113      Document: 16   Page: 3   Filed: 12/06/2021
    IN RE: ACCESSIBE LTD.                                       3
    from the district court’s ruling on reconsideration will be
    considered on its own merits.
    Accordingly,
    IT IS ORDERED THAT:
    The petition is denied.
    FOR THE COURT
    December 06, 2021        /s/ Peter R. Marksteiner
    Date                Peter R. Marksteiner
    Clerk of Court
    s32
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 22-113

Filed Date: 12/6/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 12/7/2021