MacMunn v. Eli Lilly Co.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

559 F. Supp. 2d 58 (D.D.C. 2008)

Relevant factsFree

Judith MacMunn (plaintiff), a Massachusetts resident whose mother resided in Massachusetts while pregnant with her in 1962, sued Eli Lilly & Co. (Eli Lilly) (defendant) in D.C. Superior Court over injuries she attributed to in-utero DES exposure, with all witnesses and evidence located in Massachusetts; Eli Lilly removed the case to federal court and, before substantial discovery, moved to transfer venue to the District of Massachusetts, which the plaintiffs opposed.

IssueFree

Whether, when a plaintiff has brought an action before a proper venue, the court may nevertheless transfer the case to another venue over the plaintiff's objections.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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