Atlantic Marine Supreme Court Petition

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a Petition filed by Locke Lord Dallas Partner W. Scott Hastings on behalf of Atlantic Marine Construction Company to review the Fifth Circuit's ruling on the enforceability of a choice-of-forum clause in a federal construction contract. Hastings says the pending case "presents an excellent opportunity for the court to resolve a long-running split in circuit court authority regarding enforcement of forum selection clauses." The Firm's client had argued that its subcontractor was bound by contract to file any lawsuits stemming from the work in Virginia, but sued the client in Texas after the parties became involved in a payment dispute. The Fifth Circuit opinion did not enforce the forum selection clause, which led Hastings to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling in the client's favor "will promote certainty for parties by enforcing contracts as written, and will conserve judicial resources by allowing parties to avoid wasteful litigation over where to litigate when the matter has already been addressed and resolved in the governing contracts," Hastings said. For Law360 coverage of this case, please see http://www.law360.com/articles/428963 and http://www.law360.com/articles/410276/justices-urged-to-review-construction-contract-forum-deals

Posted April 10, 2013