ADWB Stops Jones Act Employer From Using Forum Selection Clause Against Injured Employee

Armbruster Dripps Blotevogel LLC partner Roy Dripps convinced a judge in the Southern District of Illinois that a forum selection clause frequently used by an employer to guide venue to the Southern District of Indiana was unenforceable. As a result, the employee, who resides in Illinois, will get to keep the case in the Southern District of Illinois. The employer gets injured employees to agree to this term so they can secure a wage advance as they’re trying to recover from their injuries. Numerous courts have ruled in favor of this tactic. Armbruster Dripps Blotevogel LLC partner Roy Dripps cited United States Supreme Court precedent pertaining to the FELA, the Jones Act’s express adoption of the FELA, and the fact the Jones Act no longer has its own venue provision, to convince the judge that there is binding authority that Jones Act plaintiffs cannot be subject to this device.