Five Questions After Atlantic Marine

Authors

Stephen E. Sachs

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Atlantic Marine did a lot to clear up the law of forum selection. But it also left a number of live questions in place. This Article 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 happens 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.

Recommended Citation

Stephen E. Sachs, Five Questions After Atlantic Marine, 66 Hastings L.J. 761 (2015).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol66/iss3/16