[ DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-14695 MAY 3, 2010
Non-Argument Panel JOHN LEY
________________________ CLERK
D.C. Docket No. 09-00432-CV-RBP-2
JOHN RUCKER, CAROLYN WILLIAMS,
WANDA ANDERSON, MELANIE HOUSE,
THOMAS R. PRINCE, JR., on behalf of
themselves and others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
versus
OASIS LEGAL FINANCE, L.L.C.,
Defendant-Appellant,
GLOBAL FINANCIAL CREDIT, L.L.C., et al.
Defendants.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Alabama
________________________
(May 3, 2010)
BEFORE EDMONDSON, BIRCH and HILL, Circuit, Judges.
PER CURIAM:
This case involves a proposed class action by John Rucker, et al. (Rucker),
filed in the State of Alabama, for declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief for
alleged harms suffered due to alleged illegal gambling contracts with Oasis Legal
Finance, LLC (Oasis), a Delaware limited liability company, with its principal
place of business located in Illinois. The contracts contained a forum selection
clause which stated Illinois was the exclusive forum for disputes.
Oasis seeks to enforce this clause by moving the district court to dismiss for
improper venue. Rucker argues that, because these contracts are alleged illegal
gambling contracts, they are void ab initio, and therefore the forum selection
clause is an unenforceable nullity. Oasis claims that an Alabama forum will be a
financial burden to it.
Without reaching these arguments, the district court denied Oasis’s Motion
to Dismiss for Improper Venue on the basis that: the agreements provide that
issues of law will be determined under Alabama law; that the underlying legal
issue as to the validity of these agreements is an issue of Alabama law; that an
Illinois court would have to interpret Alabama law without the ability to certify the
question to the Supreme Court of Alabama; that all of the plaintiffs are, or have
been residents of Alabama; that the agreements were consummated in Alabama;
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and, finally, that enforcement of the forum selection clause is unreasonable under
the circumstances.
We have reviewed the record in this case, the briefs, the arguments of
counsel presented, and the well-reasoned memorandum opinion of the district
court, denying Oasis’s motion to dismiss the case for improper venue. Finding no
error, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
AFFIRMED.
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