Omni Bridgeway Can Move Apple Subpoena Fight Out of Delaware

Litigation funder Omni Bridgeway scored a small win in its battle with Apple Inc. over whether the funder should be forced to turn over documents in the patent suit the tech giant believes it is funding.

Omni was granted its motion to transfer out of Delaware federal court where Apple Inc. filed subpoenas looking for documents about any financing arrangements and valuations between the funder and a Finnish patent owner. Omni sought to transfer the case to the Northern District of California, which is the court that is presiding over the underlying litigation between the patent owner and Apple.

Apple opposed the transfer stating that Omni is a Delaware corporation so Delaware is the district of compliance and a transfer would cause an unnecessary delay to the litigation. But on Tuesday Chief Justice Colm F. Connolly granted Omni’s motion citing a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure which provides that the subpoena may be transferred to the court where compliance is required. The fight over whether the company needs to turn over the documents will continue in federal court in the Northern District of California.

“I cannot think of a good reason why I should expend precious judicial resources making a decision that could very well and reasonably be rendered moot or effectively nullified by the rulings of the judge who is overseeing the underlying litigation,” wrote Justice Connolly in his order. Judge Connolly has a reputation for tenaciously seeking litigation finance transparency in a venue that hears a high volume of patent cases, many of which are aided by outside funders.

Apple asked a federal court in Delaware in July to force Omni to provide records and answer questions about patent owner MPH Technologies Oy’s 2018 lawsuit accusing Apple of infringing patents with its iMessage and FaceTime products. The company sought documents “related to any assessments, including financial assessments, of one or more of the MPH patents” as well as any audits or valuations of MPH itself, among other items. Apple says Omni Bridgeway backed MPH in the now six-year-old case.

Omni Bridgeway is one of two publicly traded litigation funders. It committed 9% of its portfolio to patent cases, according to an annual report released last year.

Omni fought the requests saying the demands are “burdensome” and based on “unfounded speculation.”

The case is: In Re: Omni Bridgeway LLC, D. Del., 1:24-mc-330, 8/6/24