UK HIGH COURT REFUSES TO STAY PROCEEDINGS DESPITE CONCURRENT ACTION IN TEXAS
MacDermid Offshore Solutions LLC (“MacDermid”) sued Niche Products Limited (“Niche”) in Texas for misleading advertising. Soon thereafter, Niche sued MacDermid in the Patents County Court (“PCC”) in England under the British cause of action for malicious falsehood. Both intellectual property proceedings turned on whether a particular type of oil product was different. MacDermid filed an application with the PCC, requesting that the proceedings be heard in Texas. The PCC dismissed the application, and MacDermid appealed.
The High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the judge had applied the correct test in holding that the claim should be heard in the English jurisdiction, despite a concurrent action in Texas. The High Court noted that the test remains whether the foreign jurisdiction is clearly more appropriate. The existence of prior foreign proceedings is not decisive, though it may be a factor to be taken into account, and the weight to be attached to such proceedings is a matter of judgment. MacDermid Offshore Solutions LLC v. Niche Products Ltd, [2013] EWHC 1493 (Ch) (May 6, 2013).
This post written by Brian Perryman.
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