March 10th, 2018

​US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
Al Copeland Investments, LLC v. First Specialty Insurance Corp.

Docket: 17-30557
Opinion Date: March 9, 2018
Judge: Higginbotham
Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Insurance Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiffs' suit based on forum non conveniens. The court held that Louisiana Revised Statute 22:868 does not evince a public policy against forum-selection clauses in insurance contracts. Therefore, the court found that the parties' insurance policy contained an enforceable forum-selection clause requiring litigation in New York state court. Furthermore, the public interest factors did not weigh in favor of keeping this case in Louisiana.