Supreme Court Review: Analysis: Forum-Shoppers Should Discover a Wider Market

Abstract

Commentary and analysis of five cases decided by the Supreme Court on its 1990-91 docket. Cases discussed include Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. v. Shute; International Primate Protection League v. Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund; Salve Regina v. Russell; Connecticut v. Doehr; and Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete. In Carnival Cruise Lines, the Court endorsed, extended, and upheld as enforceable the use of forum-selection clauses in consumer contracts. The contractual forum selection clause at issue was contained in a cruise passenger’s ticket, specifying Miami, Florida as the litigation forum. The court based its decision on its precedent in The Bremen v. Zapata Off-shore Co., in which the Court previously upheld forum selection clauses in commercial contracts. In International Primate Protection League, a unanimous Court held that the League had standing to challenge the removal of a state case to federal court, determining that the concrete injury requirement was satisfied by the loss of the League’s right to sue in the forum of its choice – Louisiana state court – and this injury was directly traceable to the defendant’s action in removing the case to federal court. In Salve Regina College, the Court held that an appellate court must provide a de novo review of a district court judge’s determination of applicable law, a departure from the long-standing rule of appellate deference to district court determinations of state law. In Connecticut v. Doehr, the Court struck down Connecticut’s prejudgment attachment statute as a violation of due process. The Court modified its prevailing test in Mathews v. Eldridge, setting forth a new three-part test. Finally, in Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., the Court simply held that race-based exclusion of jurors through preemptory challenges in civil cases violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause.

Keywords: Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. v. Shute, International Primate Protection League v. Administrators of Tulane Educational Fund, Salve Regina College v. Russell, Connecticut v. Doehr, Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete, forum selction clauses, federal removal jurisdiction, applicable law, remedies