Opinion ID: 713055
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: May the Court Dismiss?

Text: 6 In M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1, 92 S.Ct. 1907, 32 L.Ed.2d 513 (1972), the Court held that in admiralty cases forum selection clauses are prima facie valid and should be enforced unless enforcement is shown by the resisting party to be 'unreasonable' under the circumstances, and that courts should enforce such clauses unless the resisting party could clearly show that enforcement would be unreasonable and unjust, or that the clause was invalid for such reasons as fraud or overreaching. Id. at 9-11, 15, 92 S.Ct. at 1913, 1916. We have applied Bremen to transfer motions in nonadmiralty cases. E.g., Seattle-First Nat'l Bank v. Manges, 900 F.2d 795, 799 (5th Cir.1990); In re Fireman's Fund Ins. Cos., 588 F.2d 93, 95 (5th Cir.1979). The district court applied the Bremen case here. 7 We see no justification for regarding the scope of 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) 3 as to dismissal any narrower than § 1404(a) 4 as to transfer. This court has upheld dismissal of a suit as an appropriate means of enforcing a forum selection clause under Bremen. Zapata Marine Serv. v. O/Y Finnlines, Ltd., 571 F.2d 208 (5th Cir.1978). In another admiralty case the Supreme Court implicitly approved of dismissal of a case as a means of enforcing a forum selection clause. In Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585, 111 S.Ct. 1522, 113 L.Ed.2d 622 (1991), two passengers on a cruise brought a negligence action against the cruise operator. The plaintiffs sued in their home state of Washington. The defendant moved for summary judgment, claiming that the forum selection clause on the cruise tickets required suit to be brought in Florida, and alternatively that the Washington court lacked personal jurisdiction over defendant. Id. at 586-88, 111 S.Ct. at 1524. The district court granted summary judgment based on the personal jurisdiction argument. Id. The court of appeals reversed, holding that personal jurisdiction existed, and that the forum selection clause should not be enforced. Id. at 586-90, 111 S.Ct. at 1524-25. The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals without reaching the personal jurisdiction issue, in effect reinstating the dismissal of the suit based on the forum selection clause. Id. at 588-90, 596-98, 111 S.Ct. at 1525, 1529.