312J2021
`
`Fed. Clrc. Rebukes Put Spotlight On Albright Transfer
`Rulings
`
`La.W36o (February 12, 2021, 7:56 PM BST) -The Federal Circuit has repeatedly faulted
`Western District of Texas Judge Alan Albright's handling of 1ralls(er motians, and while it's
`clear the appeals court is keeping close tabs on the ll8t:ion's busiest pat:eDt judge, attorneys
`say it is too soon to tell if the ru1iDgs w:iD. reshape his approach.
`
`Most rec811tJy, the Federal Circuit said Jut week that the eight mcmths Judge Albright took
`before l'lllillg on SK Hynix Inc.'s motion to transfer a patent case to California amouuted to
`"egregious delay and blatant disregard fur precedent •
`
`That decision foDowed other recent mandamus rulings in which the appeals court has
`criticized the Waco-based judge fur denying motions seeking transfer out of his court, which
`now has more patent cases than any other district. In some instanoes, the appeals court has
`ordered the cases sent elsewhere. and in others, it has c&led for further consideration.
`
`"lt is an interesting dynamic between the Federal Circuit and Judge Albright, and one could
`certainly perceive a little bit of tension there," said Mark Remus of Brinks Gilson&: Lione.
`
`He added. "I think what really frustrated the Federal Cin:uit in this most recent example"
`was a pen:eption that Judge Albright "was just sitting on these motions rather than ruling on
`them" to avoid giving the appeals court a chance to weit;b in.
`
`The flurry of decisions uking aim at Judge Albright Cor not transferring cases calls to mind a
`similar situation a few years ago, when the Federal Circuit closely scrutinized transfer denials
`by judges in the Eastern District of Texas, the nation's biggest patent hot spot at that time.
`
`114
`
`RingCentral Ex-1012, p. 1
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
`
`

`

`31212021
`
`Fed. Circ. Rebukes Put Spotlight On Albright Transfer Rulings - Law360
`
`"It's not unprecedented, but it's a little unusual," said Joe Abraham, an Austin-based solo
`practitioner who writes a blog about patent litigation in the Western District. "Judge
`Albright's court is young. He's only been on the bench a couple years. So to an extent, the bar
`and the judge and the Federal Circuit are all feeling each other out, as it were."
`
`It's not clear how much more the appeals court is going to want to keep stepping in to review
`decisions by the same judge on the same issue, so "the only thing that you can say for sure is
`that the Federal Circuit has certainly signaled that it is watching very closely how Judge
`Albright conducts his transfer analysis," Abraham said.
`
`Whether the appeals court will feel the need to issue further mandamus rulings on Judge
`Albright's approach to transfers "is going to depend on how he applies the precedents of
`those rulings," said Tonya Gray of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.
`
`"What is transpiring between Judge Albright and the Federal Circuit is not that atypical from
`what has transpired with other Texas district court judges on the issue of transfer," she said.
`"I think Judge Albright will apply any precedent that the Federal Circuit issues that would
`require him to alter how he has looked at these issues."
`
`Since taking the bench in 2018, Judge Albright has actively touted his court as an appealing
`venue for patent cases, highlighting among other factors his view that he can resolve cases
`more quickly than even the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Plaintiffs have responded by
`filing over Boo new suits there in 2020, more than any other district.
`
`While the judge is bound to follow the rulings from the Federal Circuit, Remus said he
`expects him "to do so in a way that preserves venue in his court as much as possible," given
`the way he has promoted his court.
`
`"My perception is that it may change how he handles cases at the periphery but not the core
`of what he does, because he is very steadfast in what he believes is the right way to handle
`things," he said. "I don't see him all of a sudden changing his view of these venue decisions."
`
`Repeated Criticism
`
`Judge Albright appears to take a similar approach to transfer motions as the judges in the
`Eastern District of Texas, who also have a tendency to find ways to hold onto cases and reject
`motions by tech companies seeking transfers, often to their home base in the Northern
`District of California. The Federal Circuit has found much to criticize about that practice.
`
`After finding that Judge Albright waited too long to rule on SK Hynix's transfer motion in a
`case filed byNetlist, the appeals court stayed the case until he did so. He denied the motion
`the next day, leading SK Hynix to file another petition to the Federal Circuit on Feb. 5.
`But in other cases, the Federal Circuit has told the judge to ship cases elsewhere.
`
`https:llwww.law360.com/artides/1353897/fed-circ-rebukes-put-spotlight-on-albright-transfer-rulings
`
`214
`
`RingCentral Ex-1012, p. 2
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
`
`

`

`31212021
`
`Fed. Circ. Rebukes Put Spotlight On Albright Transfer Rulings - Law360
`
`Those include an order sending a case against Apple by Uniloc to California in which the
`appellate court called Judge Albright's decision to keep it a "patently erroneous result."In
`that November ruling, the Federal Circuit objected to the judge's finding that the "significant
`steps" he had taken on the case weighed against transfer. It noted that he only took them
`after Apple sought to move the case and gave "undue priority" to the merits of the case over
`the transfer motion.
`
`In another decision, the Federal Circuit in July faulted the judge for not transferring a
`case against Adobe to California based in part on his perceived ability to bring the case to
`trial more quickly, saying that shouldn't outweigh other factors. In October, the court said
`the judge's refusal to transfer a case against a Schlumberger unit contained "clear errors."
`
`Abraham said that Judge Albright is certainly cognizant that some litigants have been
`aggressive about challenging his transfer decisions, "but I don't think he's taking it
`personally."
`
`Comments that Judge Albright has made at recent hearings suggest ''he's trying to create a
`sense of assurance amongst those who are appearing in front of him now that he is taking to
`heart the messages of the mandamus orders, to the extent those messages are
`clear," Abraham said.
`
`While those rulings are notable, the Federal Circuit has rejected several other mandamus
`petitions challenging Judge Albright's transfer rulings.
`
`"I don't think that one can say that the Federal Circuit is uniformly sending a message to
`Judge Albright about how he conducts his courtroom in general," Abraham said, adding that
`the appeals court will continue to consider the judge's rulings on a case-by-case basis.
`
`Judge Albright did not respond to a request for comment for this article, but at a hearing in
`December, he said that "it doesn't upset me" when parties challenge his decisions at the
`Federal Circuit, and spoke positively about getting input from the appeals court.
`
`"Clarity from the circuit is always good for me. I'm doing the very best I can to do what I
`think is best, but that's the way our system works," he said.
`
`What Happens Next
`
`It seems clear that the Federal Circuit's receptiveness to mandamus petitions about Judge
`Albright's rulings will likely spur more disappointed litigants to file them going forward. It
`may also cause plaintiffs to think twice before filing patent suits in the Western District of
`Texas that have a tenuous connection to the area, said Remus of Brinks Gilson.
`
`https:llwww.law360.com/artides/1353897/fed-circ-rebukes-put-spotlight-on-albright-transfer-rulings
`
`314
`
`RingCentral Ex-1012, p. 3
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
`
`

`

`31212021
`
`Fed. Circ. Rebukes Put Spotlight On Albright Transfer Rulings - Law360
`
`The issue of venues is "getting serious scrutiny and review at the Federal Circuit level, and I
`think that will force plaintiffs to dot their i's and cross their t's before they choose to file in
`that court," he said.
`
`In terms of how Judge Albright handles patent cases in general, attorneys say that while
`there are some similarities between him and the judges in the Eastern District of Texas, like a
`tendency not to grant transfers and an apparent preference for moving cases to trial rather
`than ruling on summary judgment, it's too early in his tenure to identify a clear approach.
`
`"I think that Judge Albright is still new enough that it's difficult to tease out his preferences
`one way or the other, and that's something that companies are still deciphering," Remus
`said.
`
`Juries in the Eastern District have a history of issuing large damages awards, but the one jury
`trial before Judge Albright ended in a defense verdict in October. He has another trial set
`to begin Feb. 16 in a suit against Intel by VLSI Technology, which will provide another data
`point on what to expect from Western District patent trials.
`
`"One is certainly not a pattern, so it's going to take a little more time to see if a pattern
`develops or not," said Hunton's Gray.
`
`--Editing by Aaron Pelc and Jill Coffey.
`For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@laW360.com.
`
`0 Comments
`
`https:llwww.law360.com/artides/1353897/fed-circ-rebukes-put-spotlight-on-albright-transfer-rulings
`
`4/4
`
`RingCentral Ex-1012, p. 4
`RingCentral v. Estech
`IPR2021-00574
`
`