Author Question: Contracts must use formal terminology such as whereas and heretofore in order to be legal. Indicate ... (Read 44 times)

Jkov05 · **on:** Jun 24, 2018

Contracts must use formal terminology such as whereas and heretofore in order to be legal.
Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Question 2

Gertrude Clodfelter, an 80 year old resident of North Dakota, recently filed a lawsuit in Florida against Islander Cruise Company, a Florida corporation, seeking damages as a result of a fall she suffered in the shower during a cruise to the Bahamas. The language in Ms. Clodfelter's ticket provided that Any and all claims arising from injuries occurring during a cruise shall be filed in and shall be determined pursuant to the laws of the registry of the ship upon which the injury occurred. This language was located in very fine print in Paragraph 66 of Ms. Clodfelter's cruise ticket. The ship upon which Ms. Clodfleter was injured is registered in Panama. Furthermore, at the time of Ms. Clodfelter's purchase of her ticket, a sales agent employed by the cruise line told her: Don't worry - we're a reputable company, easy to find and located right here in the United States. Finally, Florida has several statutes protecting senior citizens from commercial exploitation. Please explain the provisions of Ms. Clodfelter's ticket. Is this language enforceable? Why or why not?

stanleka1 · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 24, 2018

Answer to Question 1

FALSE

Answer to Question 2

Ms. Clodfelter's ticket contains a forum selection agreement. A forum selection agreement is a contractual clause selecting the geographic location for the resolution of disputes between the contracting parties. The forum selection agreement in this case may be invalid due to fraud in its procurement. It may also be invalid due to the lack of notice, specifically, the very fine print in the cruise ticket. An additional ground for holding the forum selection agreement invalid is that enforcement may violate Florida's public policy relating to the protection of senior citizens. Finally, the forum selection agreement may be invalid due to the serious inconvenience imposed upon Ms. Clodfelter in litigating in Panama, which is most certainly a remote alien forum. Ms. Clodfelter's ticket also contains a choice of law clause. A choice of law clause is a contractual provision wherein the parties select the law that is applicable to the resolution of disputes between them. The choice of law clause may be invalid in this case as there is no reasonable basis for the selection of Panamanian law. Specifically, there are insufficient contacts between the cruise and the selected law.