December 14, 2022

Signify vs. Menards Legal Battle Moves to Wisconsin

Menards succeeds in changing the venue to a court close to its Wisconsin headquarters

A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that a patent infringement lawsuit that Signify brought upon U.S. hardware retail chain, Menards, should change venues from a U.S. District Court in Northern Ohio to the U.S. District Court in Western Wisconsin.

The defendant, Menards, is headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The company succeeded in convincing the court that Wisconsin was the proper venue for the case. Judge J. Philip Calabrese, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio stated, "Considering all factors and the entirety of the record, the only factor that cuts in favor of Ohio is Plaintiffs’ choice to file suit in this District, and it carries less weight on the facts presented because Plaintiffs did not file suit in their home District. Witness and fact-based considerations favor of venue in Wisconsin."

In August, Signify sued Menards over private-label lighting products that, according to Signify, violate six Signify patents. The six asserted U.S. patents relate to LED technology, power control and configurability. The accused Menards products include 61 SKUs in various categories including LED discs, LED downlights and portable LED work lights.

In October, Menards pulled fourteen of its vendors into the lawsuit stating, in part, that “Menards denies any liability to Signify, but asserts that, if held liable, Menards is entitled to indemnification by the third-party defendants.”

The case was transferred on Tuesday, December 13, and will forge ahead in a different legal landscape closer to Menards headquarters.