Lewis v. Grote Indus., Inc., No. 11 C 7069, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jan. 24, 2012) (Holderman, C.J.).
Judge Holderman granted defendant Grote Industries’ (“Grote”) motion and transferred this patent case involving high-powered LED lights to the Southern District of Indiana. The cases sole connection to the Northern District of Illinois was that Grote sold product here, as it did in many other states. That weak connection diminished the preference for plaintiff’s choice of forum. Additionally, most of the witnesses and documents were at Grote’s facilities in the Southern District of Indiana. And while plaintiff, a UK resident, would be inconvenienced in any district, Grote would be far less inconvenienced in the Southern District of Indiana, its home district.