Motion to Transfer Venue Granted

Weinstein v. UGS Corp., 2007 WL 3118363(E.D.Tex. Oct 22, 2007) (NO. CIV. A. 207CV-173 TJ)
Judge: T. John Ward
Holding: Motion to Transfer Venue GRANTED
USGS is a company with its principal place of business in Texas.  One day one of its employees left its offices in Michigan and struck and killed two people while driving under the influence of alcohol.  He was convicted of second degree murder, and is currently an inmate in a Michigan prison.  Judge Ward granted Defendant's motion to transfer venue to Michigan, where he found the vast majority of the likely witnesses were located, but did not rule on the motion to dismiss or the motion for leave to designate a responsible third party.  He noted that the plaintiff alleged that the decisions by USGS regarding the employee's drinking problems and what to do about them took place in Texas, but Judge Ward noted that the affidavit proof did not support this, and instead supported that a large number of key witnesses on the relevant issues were located in Michigan.