U.S. Supreme Court Issues Significant Forum-Selection Decision

There has been confusion in the courts over the years regarding the appropriate mechanism to enforce forum-selection clauses, which are now routinely included in many commercial and personal contracts. Such clauses typically require any dispute between contracting parties to be resolved in the particular federal or state court chosen by the parties in the contract. On December 3, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a key decision clarifying the course that a court must follow when confronted with a dispute over a forum-selection clause.

In Atlantic Marine Construction Co. v. United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 12–929, the Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Alito, set forth the procedure a federal court must follow when confronted with a lawsuit that has been filed in a jurisdiction not selected by the parties in their contract. Specifically, the Court ruled that in an action involving a federal forum-selection