A federal court in New Jersey upheld a franchise agreement's forum selection clause in favor of hotel franchisor Ramada Worldwide Inc. and denied a Minnesota hotel franchisee's motion to dismiss the complaint, or alternatively, transfer the case to Minnesota.

SB Hotel Management Inc. terminated its franchise agreement with Ramada for a hotel in Wisconsin. The franchise agreement had a clause saying any litigation would be in New Jersey. Ramada brought an action against SB in New Jersey federal court for breach of contract.

Ramada complained for outstanding fees and damages due to SB's early termination of the franchise agreement. SB argued that an addendum to the franchise agreement, which said that pursuant to the Minnesota Franchise Act nothing in the agreement could require SB to conduct litigation outside Minnesota, created a valid forum selection clause that required any litigation to be in Minnesota.

The Court rejected SB's interpretation. The Court found the agreement's forum selection provisions prohibited Ramada from requiring SB to waive its right to file suit in its home courts in Minnesota.

However, the court ruled, the Minnesota law and its regulations did not prevent a franchisor, like Ramada, from filing suit outside Minnesota, which is what Ramada did. The court also ruled the franchise agreement's forum selection clause was valid and that SB failed to show its witnesses would be unavailable or that litigation of the case in New Jersey would be so inconvenient as to deny SB its day in court.

The same facts could yield a different result in a different state, applying a different state's franchise laws. The case shows the importance of franchisees understanding forum selection clauses in their franchise agreements before signing or taking actions that might result in litigation.