Forum Selection Clauses

If the law chosen by the parties to a consumer lease is that of a jurisdiction other than a jurisdiction in which the lessee resides at the time the lease agreement becomes enforceable or within 30 days after that date or in which the goods are to be used, the choice is not enforceable. If the judicial forum chosen by the parties to a consumer lease is a forum that would not otherwise have jurisdiction over the lessee, the choice is not enforceable. (AS 45.12.106)

Alaska has rejected the common law rule that forum selection clauses are per se invalid. Volkswagenwerk v. Klippan, 611 P2d 498, 503 (Alaska 1980). Instead, Alaska has adopted a reasonableness approach, which dictates that such clauses are enforceable absent a clear showing that enforcement would be unreasonable and unjust, or that the clause was invalid for such reasons as fraud or overreaching. Crowson v. Sealaska Corp., 705 P.2d 905, 911 (Alaska 1985).