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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
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`B.E. TECHNOLOGY, LLC,
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`Plaintiff,
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`GROUPON, INC.,
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`Defendant.
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`No.: 2:12-cv-02781-JPM-cgc
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`ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO STAY
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`Before the Court is Defendant Groupon, Inc.’s (“Defendant”)
`Motion To Stay Proceedings Pending Resolution of its Motion To
`Transfer (ECF No. 28), filed February 1, 2013. For the reasons
`that follow, the Motion is GRANTED.
`“The decision whether to grant a stay of a particular
`action is within the inherent power of the Court and is
`discretionary.” Ellis v. Merck & Co., Inc., 06-1005-T/AN, 2006
`WL 448694 (W.D. Tenn. Feb. 19, 2006). The Court is tasked with
`“control[ling] the disposition of the causes on its docket with
`economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for
`litigants.” Gray v. Bush, 628 F.3d 779, 786 (6th Cir. 2010)
`(quoting Landis v. North Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936))
`(internal quotation marks omitted). Applying this power in a
`recent patent case, the United States Court of Appeals for the
`Federal Circuit directed the litigants to file a motion to stay
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`Case 2:12-cv-02781-JPM-cgc Document 32 Filed 02/11/13 Page 2 of 3 PageID 232
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`proceedings and for the district court to decide the motion to
`stay and a pending motion to transfer venue “before proceeding
`to any motion on the merits of the action.” In re Fusion-IO,
`Inc., 489 Fed. App’x 465, 465 (Fed. Cir. 2012).
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`The instant case presents a similar set of circumstances.
`Plaintiff B.E. Technology, LLC, filed a patent-infringement
`action against Defendant on September 10, 2012. (ECF No. 1.)
`Defendant filed its Answer on December 31, 2012 (ECF No. 19),
`and a Motion To Change Venue on January 10, 2013 (ECF No. 21),
`seeking transfer to the United States District Court for the
`Northern District of California. Discovery will soon commence
`as Defendant’s Non-Infringement Contentions are due under the
`Local Patent Rules by February 21, 2013. Staying the
`proceedings — including the Local Patent Rule disclosures and
`fact discovery — will allow the Court to properly decide the
`pending Motion to Change Venue in light of judicial economy and
`comity. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Polin, 429 F.2d 30, 31
`(3d Cir. 1970) (“Judicial economy requires that another district
`court should not burden itself with the merits of the action
`until it is decided that a transfer should be effected . . . .”).
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`Case 2:12-cv-02781-JPM-cgc Document 32 Filed 02/11/13 Page 3 of 3 PageID 233
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`Therefore, the Court orders that all proceedings —
`including Local Patent Rule disclosures and fact discovery — are
`hereby stayed pending the outcome of Defendant’s Motion To
`Change Venue and further Order by the Court.
`IT IS SO ORDERED this 11th day of February, 2013.
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`s/ Jon P. McCalla_________
`CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
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