Venue? We're Talking About Venue? Yes, Venue
Litigation attorney Eric Alexander published a blog for Drug & Device Law analyzing the Texas Court of Appeals' mandamus decision in In re AstraZeneca Pharms. LP ("In re AZ"), which addressed venue under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act (THFPA), the state's mini-False Claims Act. He explains how a relator's attempt to anchor a statewide case in plaintiff-friendly Harrison County failed because the plaintiff could not offer prima facie proof that "any part" of the alleged unlawful acts actually occurred in Harrison County. Alexander details the court's rejection of conclusory venue allegations, its refusal to treat website access or a stray brochure in the county as sufficient to establish that the alleged scheme took place there and its ultimate finding of an abuse of discretion in denying transfer. He notes that, although the decision's direct reach is narrow, its insistence on evidence-based venue determinations echoes personal-jurisdiction principles and has implications for THFPA and mass-tort-style claims that plaintiffs try to route into favored Texas counties.