A forum selection clause is a contractual provision that selects a court to resolve disputes. When suit is filed in a jurisdiction that is not the chosen forum, the clause may provide a basis for dismissal or transfer. When suit is filed in the chosen forum, the clause may provide a basis for asserting personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
A Primer on Forum Selection Clauses
A forum selection clause is a contractual provision that selects a specific court to resolve disputes. When suit is filed in a court that is not the chosen forum, the clause may provide a basis for dismissal or transfer. When suit is filed in the chosen forum, the clause may provide a basis for the…
Continue ReadingTrademarks and Foreign Forum Selection Clauses
The task of deciding whether a forum selection clause should be given effect can be burdensome. A federal court must evaluate whether the clause is valid. It must interpret the clause to determine whether it is exclusive and covers the claims asserted. And it must assess whether the clause is enforceable under the test laid…
Continue ReadingIf You Give a Mouse a Forum Selection Clause…
Many U.S. states have chosen to write “anti-waiver” provisions into statutory schemes that confer rights on in-state residents. Anti-waiver statutes provide that rights conferred by the statutory scheme cannot be waived. On a number of occasions, the courts have adopted “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” logic to hold that these statutes invalidate forum…
Continue ReadingIs the Closely Related Doctrine a Creature of State or Federal Law?
The closely related doctrine, discussed here and here and here, posits that a non-signatory to a contract may be bound by a forum selection clause in that contract if the non-signatory is so “closely related” to a signatory that it was “foreseeable” that it would be bound. Robin Effron and I have argued that using…
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