context: With respect to defendants' transfer motion, 28 U.S.C. SS 1404(a) allows a district court, for the convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice, to transfer a case to a court where the case might have been brought. The Supreme Court instructs that the existence of a forum selection clause is only one of several factors which a court must consider when ruling on a motion to transfer, though such a clause is "a significant factor that [must] figure centrally in the District Court's calculus."
citation_a.signal: but see
citation_a.identifier: 708 F.Supp. 255, 256-57
citation_a.parenthetical: denying transfer motion where court found that forum selection clause did not "weigh heavily enough to tip the scales away from plaintiffs choice of forum"
citation_a.sentence: The Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1, 10, 92 S.Ct. 1907, 1913, 32 L.Ed.2d 513 (1972) (forum selection clauses “are prima facie valid and should be enforced unless enforcement is shown by the resisting party to be unreasonable”); Ricoh, 487 U.S. at 33, 108 S.Ct. at 2249-50 (Kennedy, J. concurring); but see Fibra-Steel, Inc. v. Astoria Industries, Inc., 708 F.Supp. 255, 256-57 (E.D.Mo.1989) (denying transfer motion where court found that forum selection clause did not “weigh heavily enough to tip the scales away from plaintiffs choice of forum”). Other factors to be considered include the convenience of the alternate forum “given the parties’ expressed preference for that venue, and the fairness of transfer in light of the ... parties’ relative bargaining power.”
citation_b.signal: no signal
citation_b.identifier: 92 S.Ct. 1907, 1913
citation_b.parenthetical: forum selection clauses "are prima facie valid and should be enforced unless enforcement is shown by the resisting party to be unreasonable"
citation_b.sentence: The Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1, 10, 92 S.Ct. 1907, 1913, 32 L.Ed.2d 513 (1972) (forum selection clauses “are prima facie valid and should be enforced unless enforcement is shown by the resisting party to be unreasonable”); Ricoh, 487 U.S. at 33, 108 S.Ct. at 2249-50 (Kennedy, J. concurring); but see Fibra-Steel, Inc. v. Astoria Industries, Inc., 708 F.Supp. 255, 256-57 (E.D.Mo.1989) (denying transfer motion where court found that forum selection clause did not “weigh heavily enough to tip the scales away from plaintiffs choice of forum”). Other factors to be considered include the convenience of the alternate forum “given the parties’ expressed preference for that venue, and the fairness of transfer in light of the ... parties’ relative bargaining power.”