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Double Forum Shopping and the Extension of Ferens to Federal Claims That Borrow State Limitation Periods

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Publication Title

Emory Law Journal

Abstract

Ferens extended the Court's earlier decision in Van Dusen v. Barrack. Van Dusen held that the law of the transferor continues to govern in the transferee after a defendant's request for transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) is granted. This Article will focus on the twin advantages accruing to plaintiffs as a result of Ferens. Specifically, Ferens allows plaintiffs to double forum shop. Double forum shopping, as described in this Article, occurs when a court allows a plaintiff to file a lawsuit in one jurisdiction, and then, while retaining the advantages of that jurisdiction's laws, to transfer the lawsuit to some other jurisdiction. Thus, it allows plaintiffs to obtain the more favorable procedural advantages of the first jurisdiction, while litigating in the second, more geographically convenient forum.

Keywords

Forum Shopping, Ferens v. John Deere, Van Dusen v. Barrack, 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), Transferor Law, Transferee Law, Plaintiff Advantage, Jurisdiction, Procedural Law, Venue Transfer

Publication Citation

Kimberly Jade Norwood, Double Forum Shopping and the Extension of Ferens to Federal Claims That Borrow State Limitation Periods, 44 Emory L. J. 501 (1995)

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