Court Says Case Should Be Moved to Virginia

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says an agreement between two companies over where lawsuits against each other can be filed should be honored.

The high court ruled unanimously Tuesday for Atlantic Marine Construction Co., which had hired J-Crew Management, Inc. to provide construction labor and materials for the construction of a child development center at Fort Hood in Texas.

Their agreement included a clause that any lawsuit would be heard in Virginia. But when J-Crew sued, it filed in Texas and the courts refused to move the case to Virginia as specified in the contract.

"A district court should transfer the case unless extraordinary circumstances unrelated to the convenience of the parties clearly disfavor a transfer," Alito said. The justices sent the case back down to the lower courts.

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