IRONOAK, INC. VS. WILLEM HIPPOLIET DE HERDT ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion / Discovery calendar for Monday, September 22, 2025, Line 5. PLAINTIFFS IRONOAK, INC., RAJIV GOSAIN, AND RENAUD DUFEU's Motion For Reconsideration Of Order Granting Defendants' Motion To Quash Service Of Process Of Plaintiffs' Complaint Pursuant To Ccp Section 1008.

Plaintiff IronOak, Inc.'s motion for reconsideration of this court's order granting defendants' motion to quash service of process is denied. IronOak seeks reconsideration on essentially three grounds: 1) the court should have held an evidentiary hearing before deciding the minimum contacts issue; 2) the court should not have considered defendants' argument based on Global Packaging, Inc. v. Superior Court (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 1623, for procedural reasons; 3) the court should grant reconsideration based on EpicentRx, Inc. v. Superior Court (2025) 18 Cal.5th 58, which was decided after briefing but before oral argument in this case.

The first two grounds are not proper bases for a motion for reconsideration under Code of Civil Procedure, section 1008, subdivision (a), because they restate arguments that the court considered and rejected in briefing and at oral argument. The court further concludes that EpicentRx does not provide a basis for reconsideration either on motion or sua sponte. EpicentRx reinforces that forum selection clauses are generally enforceable, and holds that a forum selection clause selecting a forum that does not recognize a jury trial right is enforceable notwithstanding the strong public policy in favor of the jury trial right. (EpicentRX, supra, 18 Cal.5th, at pp. 73, 83.)

But EpicentRx does not concern the interpretation of forum selection clauses and does not directly or implicitly call into question the continued validity of the Global Packaging case. Because defendants' motion to quash turned not on the enforceability of the clause in the contract in this case but on its interpretation, nothing in EpicentRx alters the basis for this court's order.

The court denies defendants' request for sanctions.

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