Meta Cites Judge's Ruling in Another Texas Case to Support Its Transfer Motion
Meta filed a second notice of supplemental authority to support its motion to transfer a case to California from U.S. District Court for Northern Texas in Dallas, citing a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale in Texas Nationalist…
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Movement et al. v. Meta Platforms (docket 1:22-cv-00572) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas in Beaumont. Truncale’s Aug. 17 order, granting Meta’s motion to transfer in a lawsuit that also asserts a claim under chapter 143A of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, determined that Meta’s forum-selection clause is “mandatory, valid, and enforceable, and that extraordinary circumstances did not weigh against transfer,” said Meta's Monday notice (docket 3:23-cv-00217). “In doing so, it specifically rejected arguments—like those here -- that the plaintiffs could avoid their contractual obligations by asserting that Meta’s forum-selection clause violates Texas public policy or is contained in a contract of adhesion,” Meta said. Two private Facebook groups, Wise Guys I and Wise Guys II, alleged in a January complaint that Meta engaged in “viewpoint discrimination.” Meta filed a motion to transfer the case in March, saying “not only does the complaint lack the facts necessary to allege a substantive claim or establish personal jurisdiction over a California company, but Wise Guys’ underlying legal theories -- including that they can use Texas’ novel social-media censorship law to control out-of-state conduct or that they can assert the First Amendment against a private entity -- are untenable as a matter of law" (see 2305020037).