In Jones Sign Co. v. Consensus Consulting & Construction, Inc. (2019AP002189), the Court of Appeals gave a per curiam opinion which upheld a forum selection clause in a contract.

Facts

Jones was subcontracted by Consensus to produce signs in South Carolina. The work was unsatisfactory to Consensus, and payment was withheld. Under a South Carolina law, the dispute was settled in favor of Consensus. Jones brought an original action here, and the circuit court decided on summary judgement that Jones was entitled to judgement. Consensus appealed.

Decision

On appeal, Consensus argued that the circuit court lacked personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and that it was an improper forum for the dispute. The Court disagreed that the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and they assumed without deciding that there was personal jurisdiction as well. However, the court vacated the decision based on the fact that there was a valid, unambiguous forum selection clause that the circuit court shouldn’t have ignored.