Offshore Sportswear, Inc. v. Vuarnet International, B.V.

We must decide whether a party whose action was dismissed without prejudice to enforce a forum selection clause may refile, and relitigate, the same issue again.

Offshore Sportswear, California Shirt Printer, Inc., Gulu Watumull and George Kazantzis (Offshore) appeal the district court’s dismissal of their action arising out of representations by Vuamet International, B.V., that allegedly fraudulently induced them to enter into a licensing agreement. The district court had previously dismissed an action by Offshore arising out of the same alleged misrepresentations because the agreement made the courts of Geneva, Switzerland “exclusively competent.” No appeal was taken from that order.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , as a district court’s order dismissing an action to enforce a forum selection clause is a collaterally final order; and we affirm. We hold that an order dismissing an action to enforce a forum selection clause is preclusive on the issue of the applicability, and the enforceability, of the clause when the issues and the parties remain the same. Accordingly, Offshore may not relitigate these issues even though the dismissal of the prior action was…