The burden on WTG to litigate in Texas, if anything, appears less than the burden on Glass-Steel to litigate in Colorado. See Solid Sys. CAD Servs., 2013 WL 3787495, at *6; Epcon Indus. Sys., L.P. v. Progressive Design, Inc., No. H-06-4123, 2007 WL 1234928 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 25, 2007) (the burden on a Virginia company to defend in Texas was not unfair because the company solicited the contract in Texas and initiated numerous communications and trips to Texas during the contract performance). WTG's motion to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction, (Docket Entry No. 7), is denied.
A non-resident contractor may be subject to personal jurisdiction by reason of entering an agreement with a resident plaintiff subcontractor even if that non-resident contractor was required by a third party to make the subcontract with the resident plaintiff. See Epcon Indus. Systems, L.P. v. Progressive Design Inc., Civ. A. No. H-06-4123, 2007 WL 1234928, at *7 & n.48 (S.D. Tex. April 25, 2007) (Johnson, Mag. J.) (finding exercise of personal jurisdiction proper even though defendant, a general contractor, presented three potential subcontractors to Philip Morris, and Philip Morris selected plaintiff, a resident of Texas).
Thus, there is a local interest in this case. See Ternium Int'l U.S.A. Corp., 2009 WL 464953, at *5 (citing Seeberger Enters., Inc. v. Mike Thompson Recreational Vehicles, Inc., 502 F.Supp.2d 531, 541 (W.D. Tex. 2007) and Epcon Indus. Sys., L.P. v. Progressive Design, Inc., No. H-06-4123, 2007 WL 1234928, at *10 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 25, 2007)). And again, the more important point is that OOCL has not made any showing that residents of the Southern District of New York have such an interest in this suit as to warrant transfer.
This local interest exists even if the contract was performed by delivering goods outside of the district. Epcon Industrial Systems, L.P. v. Progressive Design, Inc., No. H-06-4123, 2007 WL 1234928, at *10 (S.D. Tex. April 25, 2007). Thus, it seems, at first, that this district has a local interest in the case because CSI is a local business by virtue of its facility in Terrell.