Five Questions After Atlantic Marine

Authors

Stephen E. Sachs, Duke Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Keywords

forum selection, Atlantic Marine, transfer, venue, forum non conveniens, 1404, Erie, appeal, mandamus

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s Atlantic Marine ruling did a lot to clear up the law of forum selection. But it also left a number of live questions in place. This essay briefly discusses five of them. When a party wants to move a case to the selected forum, what procedures can it use, other than venue transfer or forum non conveniens? When is a forum selection clause valid and enforceable, as a matter of state or federal law? If the clause isn’t valid, should a federal court still give it any weight? What if there are multiple parties or claims, and the clause applies to some but not others? And what do the Court’s new standards mean for parties appealing a forum selection ruling, either before or after a final judgment? Judges are already wrestling with these questions, but the answers aren’t easy—and may well require another trip to the Supreme Court.

Citation

Stephen E. Sachs, Five Questions After Atlantic Marine, 66 Hastings Law Journal 761-776 (2015)