Tampa Court Transfers AT&T's Motion to Compel to Philadelphia

The U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Tampa granted AT&T’s request to transfer its motion to compel Voxon documents under subpoena to the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where the subpoena originated, said an order signed Wednesday (docket 8:22-mc-43) by U.S. Magistrate Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone. Core Communications sued AT&T in the Philadelphia court seeking the recovery of $11.4 million in unpaid access services charges (see 2211230053). AT&T challenges the validity of the unpaid charges, and says the documents it seeks from Voxon, one of Core’s upstream partners, are “directly relevant” to its defense in the case. Voxon didn't respond to AT&T’s motions to transfer or compel, and under Local Rule 3.01(c) the court is free to treat the motions as unopposed, said Sansone’s order. Other nonparties failed to comply with AT&T subpoenas, and AT&T “anticipates moving to compel and transfer in various jurisdictions,” it said. Without transfer to the Philadelphia court, “there is a risk of conflicting rulings,” it said. “The complexity of the underlying litigation favors finding exceptional circumstances to transfer these subpoena related motions,” said the judge. “The exceptional circumstances here -- the risk of inconsistent discovery rulings, the complexity of the case, as well as the interests of judicial economy and efficiency -- outweigh the interest Voxon has in litigating AT&T’s motion to compel locally.”