On May 10, 2022, the First Department issued a decision in Wormser Corp. v. L’Oréal USA, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op. 03093, holding that a party to an agreement may be held liable for filing an action in a forum other that the one mandated by a forum selection clause, explaining:
Plaintiff (Wormser) asserts a claim for breach of the forum selection clause contained in the parties’ agreement, which requires disputes to be brought before the courts of New York City, and for attorneys’ fees incurred in the actions that defendant (L’Oréal) brought against it in New Jersey.
. . .
Wormser’s claim for attorneys’ fees may proceed, as “damages may be obtained for breach of a forum selection clause, and an award of such damages does not contravene the American rule that deems attorneys’ fees a mere incident of litigation.
(Internal quotations omitted).