LAURO LINES s.r.l. v. Chasser

Background

Passengers and family members sued an Italian cruise company after the Achille Lauro was hijacked, seeking damages in a New York federal court. The tickets contained a clause saying any lawsuit must be brought in Naples, Italy. The cruise company moved to dismiss based on that clause, but the district court denied the motion, finding the ticket did not fairly notify passengers they gave up suing in the United States. The company tried to appeal that denial before trial.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether a pretrial order denying dismissal under a forum clause can be appealed right away as a “collateral” order — a narrow exception that allows some pretrial appeals when a right would be destroyed if review waited. The Court applied the three-part test: the order must be conclusive, separate from the case’s merits, and effectively unreviewable after final judgment. It found that the denial fails the third requirement because the company can vindicate its forum right by appealing after final judgment and reversing any judgment reached in the wrong forum. Unlike absolute immunities that protect a person from being tried at all, a forum clause does not prevent suit everywhere and so is not effectively destroyed by waiting.

Real world impact

Companies and people who rely on contract clauses sending lawsuits abroad cannot force an immediate appeal when a U.S. court rejects those clauses. Defendants must generally defend the case in the trial court and raise the forum issue on appeal after final judgment. This decision keeps pretrial appeals limited and reduces early interruptions of trials for dispute over where a case should be heard.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Scalia concurred, agreeing the right is not important enough to overcome policies against immediate appeals and emphasizing private agreements do not justify interlocutory review.