If you’ve got a venue selection clause and you are wondering whether you can file in state or federal court, or whether you can remove a state-filed case to federal court, you might look at the Fifth Circuit‘s opinion in Alliance Health Group LLC v. Bridging Health Options LLC.

The venue clause in this case  provided that "exclusive venue for any litigation related hereto shall occur in Harrison County, Mississippi."  The Court held that the particular language of this clause and the fact that Harrison County, Mississippi has a federal courthouse in that county permits venue in federal court.  Significantly, the Court discusses a number of other permutations to the language in venue clauses and draws distinctions that may be of use to practitioners.

For your convenience, I’ve extracted from the court’s opinion its commentary on some of the permutations of venue selection language and what result attaches to the language.Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Discusses Venue Selection Clauses