Impact of West Texas Judge Assignment Order More Muted than Expected

The Western District of Texas has been the top patent venue by a large margin for over two years, largely due to the efforts of Waco District Judge Alan D. Albright to attract patent litigation to his courtroom. Yet that concentration of patent cases has led to scrutiny from both members of Congress and the federal judiciary, leading to a notable change last quarter on his home turf. On July 25, Chief District Judge Orlando L. Garcia issued a targeted standing order establishing that all patent cases filed in the Waco Division will be randomly assigned among 12 of West Texas’s district judges, including Judge Albright.

However, the data reveal that rather than causing a dramatic dip in West Texas NPE litigation, as some had anticipated, this judge assignment order has (so far) had a more muted effect, albeit following an initial downturn. Specifically, as shown below, a marked slowdown occurred in the weeks after the order, likely as plaintiffs paused to reassess their strategies—with cumulative NPE filings around the 21-day mark hovering around half the level for the same period in 2021 (counted by defendants added). Yet that gap narrowed over time to just 16 fewer defendants (125 vs. 141 defendants added cumulatively). In fact, slightly more defendants were added in September 2022 than in September 2021.

See RPX’s third-quarter review for further analysis of this West Texas order—including data revealing that the activity of one especially litigious plaintiff masked an even greater initial downturn.