Forum Selection Clauses

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…

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Recent Posts

Splitting the Difference on the Closely-Related-and-Foreseeable Test

Over the past decade, the lower federal courts have repeatedly considered whether non-signatories to a contract may be bound by a forum selection clause if they are so “closely related” to a signatory that it is “foreseeable” that they would be bound. In some cases, their decisions are defensible, as discussed here. In others, their…

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Parsing Invalidating Statutes (Part II)

In a prior post, I argued that the precise language used in state statutes purporting to invalidate choice-of-law clauses and forum selection clauses can have outsized effects in litigation. In this post, I continue this discussion by highlighting several statutes that purport to invalidate choice-of-law clauses in insurance contracts. Although these statutes all have the…

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Parsing Invalidating Statutes (Part I)

In previous posts, I have written about how the precise language used in a choice-of-law or forum selection clause can prove consequential in litigation. In this post, I argue that the precise language used in state statutes purporting to invalidate these clauses can likewise have an outsized effect. There are hundreds of state statutes that…

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