Judge Unlikely to Transfer Costco Case

A federal judge said Monday that she probably would reject a request by Costco Wholesale Corp. to transfer to Colorado a lawsuit filed by two women who claim the company failed to promote female workers to management positions.

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel tentatively sided with attorneys for a current Costco worker who lives in Colorado and a former employee. They said the case should stay in California because one-third of Costco’s 326 warehouses were in the state and the managers who made decisions affecting one of the women were in California.

“I don’t see that Colorado is a very compelling place for this case,” Patel said at a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. She said she might keep the case in San Francisco or transfer it to San Diego, where Costco has a regional headquarters. Patel said she would issue a final opinion on the matter after the parties submitted additional written arguments.

Brad Seligman, the attorney for the workers, won class-action status for a similar suit in San Francisco federal court against Wal-Mart Stores Inc.