California Federal Court Boots Employee’s Challenge Of His Non-Compete Because Of Pennsylvania Forum Selection Provision

In a recent order, a federal court in the Northern District of California weighed in on the validity a forum selection clause contained in an employment agreement in connection with a California employee’s declaratory relief action to invalidate his non-compete provision with his former employer. The court found for the Pennsylvania-based employer and both denied the employee’s motion to remand the case to California state court and granted the employer’s motion to dismiss for improper venue. In doing so, the court rejected the employee’s argument that the effect of enforcing the forum selection clause would permit a Pennsylvania court to enforce the non-compete provision against him and thus “deprive [Plaintiff] of the protection of his own jurisdication’s laws and remedies.”

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