Milestones: Al Good v. Nippon Yusen Kaisha, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82839 (E.D. Cal. June 12, 2013)

Summary:

Plaintiff vineyard contracted with the defendant shipper, a Japanese corporation, to ship grapes to Vietnam. Majority of the grapes arrived late and damaged, according to the plaintiff. Defendant argued that the forum selection clause dictates that the case should be heard before the District Court of Tokyo, Japan.

The court found that the forum selection clause was enforceable. The court found that the defendant did not waive the clause by the alleged failure to follow the Japanese Code of Civil Procedure.

Takeaway:

This case also goes through all the grounds for potentially superseding a forum selection clause, resolving all of them in favor of the defendant. The lesson here is simple: a well-drafted forum selection is nearly impossible to overcome.