A federal district court in Illinois ruled that a choice of law provision in a franchise agreement was voided by the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act. The agreement between a Chicago television station and its franchisee selected California as the exclusive forum for adjudicating disputes. Applying the reasoning of the Seventh Circuit in the case of Wright-Moore Corp. v. Ricoh Corp., 908 F.2d 128 (7th Cir. 1990), the court noted that public policy favors the application of Illinois law in disputes involving Illinois franchisees, and thus denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss for improper venue.

Korean American Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. Korean Broadcasting System, D.C. Ill No. 09-cv-06665, March 29, 2012.