Battaglia Enterprises, Inc. v. Superior Court

I.

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner and plaintiff in the underlying action, Battaglia Enterprises, Inc. (Battaglia), filed suit against defendants Yard House USA, Inc., Yard House USA, EEC, and Yard House Restaurants, EEC (jointly Yard House), in the Superior Court of San Diego County for breach of contract. Yard House moved to transfer the action to Orange County, citing a venue selection clause to which the parties had agreed in the contract giving rise to the suit. The trial court granted the motion.

Battaglia filed a petition for writ of mandate seeking relief from the trial court’s order transferring the underlying action from the Superior Court of San Diego County to the Superior Court of Orange County. In its petition, Battaglia argues that the trial court erroneously gave effect to the parties’ agreement concerning the place of venue for any action between them arising from their contract. Battaglia maintains that venue selection clauses are void, per se, under long-standing California Supreme Court precedent as set forth in General Acceptance Corp. v. Robinson (1929) 207 Cal. 285 [ 277 P. 1039 ] (General Acceptance). We disagree with Battaglia’s broad reading of…