BUS207 INTRODUCTION TO LAW

Muhammad Muneeb Hussain

182005087

QUESTIONS

1. Should forum-selection clauses be enforced? Why or why not?

2. Did Carnival Cruise Lines act ethically by placing the forum-selection clause in the
ticket?
3. Do forum-selection clauses serve any legitimate business purpose? Explain.

ANSWERS
1. A forum-selection clause is a contract which states an agreement that designates the
court and location where the party would likely to have their legal dispute decided.
Yes, forum-selection clauses should be enforceable. As per the case study, the cruise
line set Florida as their forum-selection as the Carnival Headquarters are in Miami,
Florida hence they did not purposely choose a court in Florida so passengers from
different state/location apart from Florida may find it hard to file reports/sue them
but because it was their main business center. Apart from that, passengers were
given a contract with their tickets in which the forum-selection clause was
mentioned so passengers had the choice of rejecting the contract.

2. Yes, Carnival Cruise Lines did act ethically by placing the forum-selection clause in
the ticket so if there was a passenger who would have wanted to object, they could
have easily objected before starting their trip if their requirements did not match or
etc. Another reason why this act was ethical was showing to passengers that they
can by all means go to court if they were being neglected by the Carnival Cruise
Lines.

3. Yes, forum-selection clauses serve legitimate business purpose as this clause gives
the upper advantage to the party implementing on their choice of specific court or
the convenience of litigating any contract disputes.