Kai-Fu Lee trial to remain in Washington, for now
Published: 14 Oct 2005 15:45 BST
A federal judge in San Jose, California has issued a tentative ruling that would put on hold Google's effort to move the battle over Kai-Fu Lee to California.
The battle over Google's hiring of the former Microsoft engineer originally landed in Washington State Court, but Google filed a suit seeking to have a California court also rule on the matter. After the matter was transferred from California state court to federal court, Microsoft asked a judge to either dismiss, transfer or stay the California case.
In a posting on a court Web site late Thursday, US District Court Judge Ronald Whyte said simply, "The court grants the motion to stay." A hearing on the matter is scheduled for later Friday morning, in which Whyte could uphold, alter or reverse his tentative ruling.
In a statement Friday, Microsoft said it was "very encouraged" by the tentative ruling. "Dr. Lee's employment agreement clearly states that the Washington courts will be the venue for resolving any disagreements, and we look forward to presenting our case in Washington state," the company said.
Google representatives did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
A Washington state court initially barred Lee from joining Google as head of its China research and development labs, but last month issued a narrower order that paved the way for Lee to begin work for Google, though there are some limits on what he can do there.
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