Jonathan D. Davis, P.C. represents a famous A-list artist in a lawsuit originally filed in a Nevada state court against her loan-out companies for the artist's alleged failure to fully perform contractual obligations at a nightclub at the Paris Hotel the night of the May 2015 Manny Pacquiao fight. After removing the case from Nevada state court to the Las Vegas federal court, artist's companies moved to transfer venue to New York based on a forum-selection and choice-of-law clause in the appearance contract. In ruling on the motion, the District Court recognized that only in "extraordinary circumstances" is a valid forum-selection clause not enforced. The Court found the forum-selection clause valid under New York law because the clause was reasonably communicated, is mandatory, covers the parties and claims in the dispute, and its enforcement would not be unreasonable or unjust or be invalidated based on fraud or overreaching. Plaintiff argued that it met the extraordinary circumstances test based on several public interest factors, i.e., speedier trial, dispute's localized nature, and preference of in-state adjudications where Nevada law applies. The Court rejected each of plaintiff's arguments, stating that lawsuits are adjudicated faster in New York, the enforcement of forum-selection clauses is paramount to any local interest, and Nevada law was inapplicable.

The Court's decision is available here.