American Forum Non Conveniens in Light of the Hague Convention on Choice-of-Court Agreements

Little Grill Guy, LLP, (LGG) is a small Pittsburgh firm whose primary business is making and selling high-end gas grills for outdoor use. Recently, a famous chef used LGG’s top-of-the-line model when preparing a meal on a very popular Japanese cooking game show. As often happens when American culture is injected into the Japanese limelight, Japanese consumers have been clamoring for LGG products since the episode aired. LGG has started negotiations with Tokyo-Mart, Inc., the largest commercial retailer in Japan. Despite its recent fame in Japan, LGG is still a small firm in a small industry and has relatively little bargaining power compared to the retail giant.