Questions about the validity of an exclusive forum provision must be decided by the court identified in the provision, the Delaware Court of Chancery has ruled. The Chancery Court’s decision, one of the few on forum provisions, transferred the dispute over whether an exclusive forum bylaw was in effect when a plaintiff filed a lawsuit to the Georgia courts named in the bylaw.
“This court ‘cannot decide whether the termination provision applies without usurping the role of the Georgia courts, which were expressly charged with adjudicating disputes over the agreement,” said Vice Chancellor John W. Noble in Scanbuy v. NeoMedia Technologies. “Disputes over whether the agreement has been terminated or the forum selection clause survives should be resolved by the courts in Atlanta.”
