Microsoft is attempting to move Google's countersuit in the Kai-Fu Lee case from a California court to federal court. A court filing by Microsoft technically means the case has moved to federal court, however Google still has the option to ask a federal judge to let the case surrounding the ex-Microsoft executive proceed in state court, according to a legal expert.
Microsoft may be seeking to reduce the possibility that pro-Google sentiment in Santa Clara County would influence the state court, said another attorney who's followed the case. Federal judges are not elected, and potential jurors for the federal court located in San Jose, California, would hail from a wider geography, he said. Google is based in Mountain View, California, a city in Santa Clara County.
Its a fierce battle, with both sides going in with guns blazing. Microsoft has already won the first round, as Kai-Fu Lee can't begin the work he was hired to do for Google until another round of legal arguments in September, according to King County Superior Court judge.