X case vs. Apple, OpenAI stays in Fort Worth, Texas
A judge ordered the closure of the case accusing X and xAI Apple and OpenAI trying to maintain its monopolies in AI markets must remain in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, despite any company having “minimal connections at best” to that geographic region.
In a wildly ironic four-page order Thursday, Judge Mark Pittman encouraged companies to move their headquarters to Fort Worth because they prefer the antitrust case to be heard there.
He even marked the companies on his website in a footnote. City of Fort Worth Business Services unit “to start the process” of moving there.
Pittman’s order implicitly targets a trend by some conservative-leaning plaintiffs to file suit in the Fort Worth division of the U.S. federal courts for the Northern District of Texas to improve their chances of receiving favorable rulings from two active judges, both appointed by Republicans.
Among these plaintiffs, X and Tesla’sBoth are controlled by mega-billionaire Elon Musk, who was President Donald Trump’s top adviser until earlier this year.
Pittman was appointed by Trump but has criticized the practice of targeting cases to specific jurisdictions, known as forum shopping.
In his order Thursday, Pittman said the Fort Worth division’s administrative unit is two to three times busier than the Dallas division’s administrative unit, which has more referees.
Pittman’s order noted that neither Apple nor OpenAI have a strong connection to Fort Worth, other than a few Apple stores.
“And of course, under that logic, there is no region or section of the entire United States that would not be an appropriate venue for this case,” Pittman said. he wrote.
X Corp. is headquartered in Bastrop, Texas, about 200 miles south of Fort Worth, while both Apple and OpenAI are headquartered in California.
“Given the desire to be located in Fort Worth, the large number of high-stakes cases previously decided in the Fort Worth Division, and the vibrancy of Fort Worth, the Court highly encourages the Parties to consider relocating their headquarters to Fort Worth,” the judge wrote.
“There is so much more to the fourth floor of Fort Worth’s historic federal courthouse than the unique works of art,” Pittman said.
The judge asked the three companies to explain why the case belonged to the Fort Worth court.
However, Pittman noted in the order that neither Apple nor OpenAI requested that the case be postponed before the judge’s Oct. 9 deadline.
Still, Pittman chose to keep the case in the Fort Worth division.
“The fact that neither Defendant has made a request for the transfer of the premises constitutes an evaluation for the Court,” the judge wrote. “And respect for the Court[s]’ Plaintiffs’ choice of venue.’
“However, the Court does not make its decision lightly or without reservation. This case has, at best, minimal connection to the Fort Worth Division of the Northern District of Texas,” Pittman wrote. “Probably one of the strongest points Plaintiffs make is ‘Apple is selling.'[s] iPhones [in this Division] (and many other products) and OpenAI offering[s] ChatGPT nationwide.”
“After more than a decade of service presiding over thousands of cases in three different courts, the undersigned continues to feel strongly that ‘[v]enue is not a continental breakfast; “You cannot choose where and how a case will be filed based on the plaintiff’s whim,” the judge harshly criticized.
But Pittman said he had little, if any, choice in his decision to keep the case at the courthouse.
Pittman wrote that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes federal courts in Texas, has raised “the standard for taking venue to new heights.”
Last year, the 5th Circuit twice rejected Pittman’s transfer order to Washington, D.C.; This was a case in which trade groups representing major banks challenged a rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that capped credit card late fees at $8 per month.
The 5th Circuit said the Pittman court “clearly abused its discretion” in trying to move the case.
OpenAI declined to comment to CNBC, directing a reporter to its public filings in the case. X and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk’s X and xAI sued Apple and OpenAI in August, alleging the companies engaged in an “anti-competitive scheme” to maintain monopolies in AI markets.
The lawsuit accused Apple of favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its App Store rankings and not prioritizing other competitors like xAI’s Grok.
Earlier this month, a judge in Washington, D.C. Blocked Musk’s request The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to move the case over alleged improper disclosure of its Twitter holdings to Texas. Musk changed Twitter’s name to X after purchasing the company.
