Forum Selection Clauses

If the judicial forum chosen by the parties to a consumer lease is a forum that otherwise would not have jurisdiction over the lessee, the choice of judicial forum is not enforceable. ORC § 1310.04

Yes, forum selection clauses are presumed to be valid and generally enforceable in Ohio. Conway v. Huntington Nat'l Bank, 2013-Ohio-1201, 2013 Ohio App. LEXIS 1087, ¶ 24 (10th Dist.). Ohio uses a three-pronged test to determine the validity of a forum selection clause as follows: (1) Are the parties to the contract commercial entities? (2) Is there evidence of fraud or overreaching? (3) Would enforcement of the clause be unreasonable and unjustPreferred Capital, Inc. v. Power Eng’g Grp., Inc.112 Ohio St. 3d 429, 2007-Ohio-257, 860 N.E.2d 741>In Ohio, forum selection clauses in commercial contracts are prima facie valid so long as the parties freely bargained for it.Bohl v. Hauke, 180 Ohio App. 3d 526, 2009-Ohio-150, 906 N.E.2d 450, ¶ 13 (4th Dist.). Furthermore, absent fraud or overreaching, an Ohio court will generally enforce a forum selection clause unless enforcement of the clause would be unreasonable and unjust. A finding of unreasonableness or injustice must be based on more than a mere inconvenience to the party seeking to avoid enforcement of the forum selection clause. Preferred Capital, Inc. v. Assocs. in Urology, 453 F.3d 718, 722 (6th Cir. 2006). Rather, it must appear that enforcement of the forum selection clause would be so manifestly and gravely inconvenient to the party seeking to avoid enforcement of the clause such that the litigant would be effectively deprived of a meaningful day in court.. at 722-23.