Delay Defeats Mandamus

The Fifth Circuit denied mandamus relief in In re Planned Parenthood, noting, in particular, that:

The district court also stressed the lateness of Petitioners’ motion to transfer. It concluded that the motion was “inexcusably delayed,” observing that Petitioners “filed their motion seven months after this case was unsealed and months into the discovery period.” The district court was within its discretion to conclude that Petitioners’ failure to seek relief until late in the litigation weighed against transfer. This conclusion is only strengthened by the fact that Petitioners waited to seek transfer until after the district court denied their motion to dismiss and motion for reconsideration. 

No. 22-11009 (Oct. 31, 2022) (citations omitted). In a part of the opinion joined by two judges, the Court also favorably reviewed the district court’s analysis of the underlying forum-transfer issue.