Consent to Jurisdiction in Business Litigation, According to One Court, Is Not the Same as Mandatory Forum Selection

When a company does business across state lines, it may need to consider questions about jurisdiction over various potential disputes. An extensive and complicated body of law addresses when and how courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over defendants. Many contracts include “choice of law” or “forum selection” provisions, which identify a specific state and county as the proper jurisdiction and venue for lawsuits. The Delaware Court of Chancery recently ruled on a dispute over a choice of law provision, in which the defendant argued that the plaintiffs’ consent to jurisdiction in Kentucky required them to bring their lawsuit there. The court disagreed, noting that the contract did not “contain clear language indicating that litigation will proceed exclusively in the designated forum.” In re Bay Hills Emerging Partners I, L.P., et al, C.A. No. 2018-0234-JRS, mem. op. at 13 (Del. Ct. Chanc., Jul. 2, 2018). Forum selection is an…

Read more detail on Recent Business Law posts –

This entry was posted in Business law and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply