Atlantic Marine Construction Co. v. United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 3, 2013, is a case that only lawyers could love. But the unanimous decision written by Justice Samuel Alito is a decision that lawyers and judges will actually love because it settles real world problems of forum shopping in a clear, fair and sensible manner.
No great questions of constitutional law or rights under a significant federal statute were at issue in Atlantic Marine. The underlying case involves a routine contract dispute between a contractor (Atlantic) and one of its subsidiaries (J-Crew Management, Inc.) over work done on a job for the federal government in Texas. The contract included a forum-selection clause under which the parties agreed to bring all litigation in the federal or state courts in Virginia, which is Atlantic’s home. When a dispute arose, and without contesting the validity of the forum-selection clause, J-Crew filed suit in the federal court in Texas.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
