Olinick

Plaintiff and appellant Martin Olinick (Olinick) appeals an order granting a motion by defendants and respondents BMG Music (BMG) et al. to stay the action on the ground of inconvenient forum. (Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10.) The trial court stayed the action for six months, pending Olinick’s filing suit in New York.

The essential issues presented are whether the instant action is within the ambit of the employment agreement’s forum selection and choice of law provisions, which require this dispute to be tried in New York pursuant to New York law, and if so, whether those contractual provisions are unenforceable as against public policy.

We conclude Olinick’s statutory cause of action for age discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Gov. Code, § 12940) as well as his common law cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of the public policy against age discrimination are subject to the agreement’s forum selection and choice of law provisions, and that those provisions do not violate California public policy. Accordingly, the order enforcing the forum selection and choice of law provisions is affirmed.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1.…