Dist. Ct. erred in transferring back to Dist. Ct. of Eastern California portion of plaintiff’s action arising out of employment contract, where plaintiff alleged violations of Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as various violations of California Labor Code, and where said contract contained forum-selection clause providing that plaintiff must bring claims against defendant in either Indiana state court or Indiana federal court. Record showed that: (1) plaintiff had originally brought instant lawsuit in California state court; (2) defendant successfully removed action to Dist. Ct. of Eastern California, which granted defendant’s motion to transfer case to Dist. Ct. of Southern Indiana based upon forum selection clause; and (3) Dist. Ct. of Southern Indiana thereafter transferred portion of case back to Dist. Ct. of Eastern California. Ct. of Appeals, in granting defendant’s petition for writ of mandamus, found that Dist. Ct. of Southern Indiana should have retained entire lawsuit pursuant to forum-selection clause, which, according to Ct. of Appeals, should be given controlling weight in all but most exceptional cases. Moreover, Dist. Ct. of Southern Indiana improperly: (1) placed burden on defendant to justify keeping case in Indiana; (2) held belief that transfer was warranted because Dist. Ct. of Eastern California was more familiar with applicable California law; and (3) failed to acknowledge that delay in bringing instant case to trial was longer in California than in Indiana.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Venue