U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division; transferred to Norfolk Division)

Court Overview

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), in the Fourth Circuit, sits in four divisions — Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk, and Newport News — with the Alexandria and Norfolk Divisions hosting the patent-heavy dockets at issue here. EDVA is the original "Rocket Docket": it had the shortest median time from filing to disposition of civil trials of any federal district in the nation — 11.9 months in the year ending June 2025, per AOUSC Table C-5 (Baker Botts 2025 EDVA roundup). Pre-pandemic medians ran 10.1–12.7 months (Sedona Conference). Patent cases are randomly assigned across the district rather than concentrated in one division, and while EDVA is no longer a top-volume patent venue, practitioners consistently describe it as "one of the country's most active venues for patent litigation" (Virginia Lawyer, Aug. 2017).

Patent Docket Reputation

EDVA's reputation rests on speed, not pro-plaintiff bias: commentators note "EDVA judges and juries are not known for favoring patentees or accused infringers," with defendants benefiting from the court's stated willingness to grant dispositive motions (Troutman, Virginia Lawyer 2017). Trials are typically jury trials lasting days, not weeks, with abbreviated discovery (90–120 days) and rare continuances. On venue, the court denied Keysight's motion to transfer Centripetal's 2017 case to Delaware and set trial about 14 months after filing (Centripetal v. Keysight, 2:17-cv-383, Norfolk). More recently, a 2025 EDVA decision held that a defendant's use of cloud servers in Virginia, without more, does not establish patent venue (Baker Botts roundup).

Local Rules and Procedures

EDVA has no patent-specific local rules or standing orders; judges manage patent cases through judge- and division-specific scheduling (Virginia Lawyer 2017). Instead, general local rules drive the pace: a 15-day deadline for discovery objections (L.R. 26(C)), an 11-day default for complying with discovery orders (L.R. 37), single 30-page summary-judgment motions requiring leave for more (L.R. 56), and near-blanket refusal of continuances (L.R. 7(G)). Markman hearings are folded into the compressed pretrial schedule and "may occur with or after expert reports," so parties often request early construction hearings.

Notable Cases

The tracked docket is dominated by Centripetal Networks (Reston, Va.) cybersecurity patent campaigns. In Centripetal Networks v. Palo Alto Networks (2:21-cv-00137, Norfolk), a jury on Jan. 31, 2024 found infringement of four firewall patents and awarded $151.5M — among 2024's largest U.S. patent verdicts (RPX, JD Supra). The court later granted JMOL of noninfringement on the '437 patent, cut the award to $113.625M (Oct. 2024), and the case is on appeal; summary judgment of no direct infringement had previously been entered on the '380 patent. In Centripetal v. Keysight/Ixia (2:17-cv-383), Judge Henry Morgan denied transfer to Delaware and ran the case to an October 2018 trial setting; later Keysight actions were transferred and stayed pending Federal Circuit appeals. For context, Judge Morgan also entered the $2.75B bench award against Cisco (later reversed by the Federal Circuit), showing EDVA handles bench and jury patent trials alike.

Judges

Henry Coke Morgan Jr. (Senior Judge, Norfolk) presided over the tracked Keysight case, denying transfer in 2017 and issuing the 2018 Markman opinion. Elizabeth W. Hanes (Biden appointee, confirmed Aug. 2022; Norfolk) presided over the Palo Alto Networks jury trial and post-trial JMOL ruling, with Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard handling pretrial matters. Per RPX, Roderick C. Young issued the early 2022 orders in the Centripetal–PAN litigation — granting a stay pending PTAB IPRs, denying dismissal without prejudice, and denying Centripetal's motion to disqualify Ropes & Gray.