JBS Hair, Inc. v. Sun Taiyang Co., Case No. 1:21-cv-1857-MLB (N.D. Ga. May 26, 2022)

Plaintiff JBS Hair, Inc. filed suit against Defendant Sun Taiyang Co., Ltd. on May 4, 2021 in the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta Division). The Complaint alleges that Defendant infringed three of Plaintiff’s patents related to synthetic braiding hair by selling its own synthetic braiding hair products (including, but not limited to, Defendant’s Outre® BRAIDBABE pictured below).

On September 24, 2021, Defendant moved to transfer the case to the District of New Jersey under 28 U.S.C. § 1404. On May 26, 2022, Judge Michael L. Brown denied Defendant’s Motion to Transfer Venue for Convenience, holding that Defendant failed to establish that New Jersey was a more convenient forum. Namely, the Court noted that Defendant had failed to identify at least one non-party witness who would be available in New Jersey, but not in Georgia. While the Court acknowledged that “the locus of operative facts” is in New Jersey, the Court deferred to Plaintiff’s choice of forum since Plaintiff is a Georgia corporation with its principal place of business in Georgia. At bottom, while the Court found some factors weighed in favor of transfer, “the overall balance” led Judge Brown to deny Defendant’s Motion.