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SCOTUS Denies Cert. in Case Addressing Split Re Standard of Review for Bremen Dismissals

Yesterday the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Arrow Electronics Inc. v. E.ON AG (9th Cir., 268 Fed. Appx. 551), a case that sought to resolve a circuit split regarding appellate review of dismissals under M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1 (1972). Here is BNA's brief summary of the ruling of the Ninth Circuit and the questions presented to the Supreme Court:

Summary of Ruling Below: Court affirms district court decision that dismissed certain claims for improper forum, in accordance with M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1 (1972), under which forum selection clause is to be enforced absent showing that it is unreasonable, unjust, fraudulent, or contrary to strong public policy.

Question(s) Presented: (1) Should Bremen doctrine, under which international forum selection clause is controlling if certain exceptions do not apply, be in line with contemporary domestic and international forum selection law? (2) Should Bremen dismissal be reviewed de novo, as nine circuits do, or using abuse of discretion standard, as do two (including Ninth)?

Full post as published by Federal Civil Practice Bulletin on October 21, 2008 (boomark / email).