Employer-Employee: Employment Agreements-Forum Selection Clause-Single Transaction

Defendant signed an employment agreement upon his hiring by plaintiff. After defendant left his employment, plaintiff sued, alleging defendant left during a binding guarantee period and failed to repay plaintiff pursuant to the parties’ repayment agreement. Defendant removed the case to federal court; plaintiff successfully moved to remand, with the district court holding that the employment agreement’s forum selection clause applied to claims arising from the repayment agreement.

Where the parties’ employment and repayment agreements were executed at the same time, for the same purpose, as part of the same transaction, district court did not err in applying employment agreement’s forum-selection clause to claims arising from repayment agreement.

Judgment is affirmed.

Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc. v. Gannon (MLW No. 72566/Case No. 17-3302 – 7 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Gruender, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, Nelson, J. (Anthony Barrett Haller for appellant, Mary L. Knoblauch, and Leigh Ann Buziak on brief) (Melissa R. Muro LaMere for appellee, William Zane Pentelovitch on brief)