Aboutaam v. El Assaad
- Andrew Carter
- 1:18-cv-08995
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Aboutaam v. El Assaad, Judge Carter requested federal-law briefing on a forum-selection clause without ruling on the pending motions.
The parties—Hicham Aboutaam, Ahmad El Assaad, and Pride Invests SAL—are affected because they must submit additional briefing on the forum-selection clause.
What happened
In Aboutaam v. El Assaad, the court had asked the parties to brief how Lebanese law affects a forum-selection clause. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment on that issue, and the defendants moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
After reviewing the submissions and relevant cases, the court said federal law—not the law most closely connected to the contract—provides the main framework for deciding the effect of a forum-selection clause in federal court. The court also identified a later Second Circuit decision involving a similar clause that the parties should address.
Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. did not decide either pending motion. He ordered the parties to submit additional letter briefing on how federal law applies to the clause by February 28, 2025.
The detailed version
- Aboutaam v. El Assaad · No. 1:18-cv-08995
- Andrew Carter
- Feb. 18, 2025
Background
The court had previously ordered briefing on the interpretation of a forum-selection clause under Lebanese law. Plaintiff Hicham Aboutaam then filed a motion for summary judgment on that issue. Defendants Ahmad El Assaad and Pride Invests SAL filed a cross-motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
Court’s analysis
The court stated that the controlling framework for determining the effect of forum-selection clauses in federal court comes from federal law, rather than from the law associated with the contract’s center of gravity. The parties’ existing briefing could still be relevant to interpreting the clause under the federal common-law framework. The court also directed the parties to address Raad v. Bank Audi SAL, a later Second Circuit summary order that analyzed a similar forum-selection clause.
Order
The court requested additional briefing on how federal law applies to the forum-selection clause at issue. It ordered the parties to submit their assessments through letter motions by February 28, 2025. The order does not grant or deny either pending motion and does not resolve the forum-selection issue.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.