Delaware Business Litigation Report

Court of Chancery Explains Anti-Suit Injunctions

Village Green Holding LLC v. Holtzman, C.A. No. 2018-0631-TMR (Del. Ch. Oct. 5, 2018)

This decision provides an excellent summary on Delaware law concerning when the Court will enjoin litigation in another jurisdiction to enforce a contract’s forum selection clause, as the Court did in this case.  It also notes a potential trap for the unwary in situations where the clause selects only a court lacking jurisdiction to hear the dispute, rendering the forum selection invalid.  That may occur for Delaware forum selection clauses when the Court of Chancery is the sole selected forum but cannot hear the dispute because of its limited subject matter jurisdiction.  To avoid that problem, it would be best to identify an alternative within the jurisdiction, or accept any court within the jurisdiction.

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