THOSE TECHNICALITIES AGAIN

Consider a contract that, like most commercial contracts, includes a “choice of venue” clause.  Those commit both parties to litigating any dispute between them in the courts of an agreed-upon state or city.

But what happens if a party decides to file suit somewhere else anyway? Under the federal rules of procedure, one could conceive of three separate ways of bringing about this result.  Lawyers could not agree on the topic, nor could judges, who issued disparate enough opinions for the Supreme Court to step in.  The High Court’s judges decreed that only one law provided the proper vehicle, so now lawyers know. But other technicalities continuously raise their head, keeping lawyers in demand.