Chelsea Abrams Secures Pre-Answer Dismissal on $1 Million Breach of Contract Case

On July 28, 2026, Chelsea P. Abrams, a Shareholder in Zarwin’s Commercial Litigation Department, secured pre-answer dismissal of a more than $1.1 million breach of contract case filed in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin by a global consulting firm against Zarwin’s client, a local community bank serving primarily customers in New Jersey and the Philadelphia area.  In dismissing the case, the Judge adopted Zarwin’s multi-pronged argument that the Court lacked personal jurisdiction over the bank and that venue was improper, each providing an independent basis for dismissal.

The Court also agreed with Zarwin that the Court should dismiss the case, rather than transfer it to a more appropriate jurisdiction (an option within the Court’s discretion and for which the plaintiff advocated).  In opting to dismiss the case over transferring it, the Court expressly disagreed with the plaintiff’s assertion that their decision to file in Wisconsin was a “reasonable choice,” and found that any additional time and expense to the plaintiff did not counsel in favor of transferring rather than dismissing the case because the plaintiff could have filed the case in New Jersey “in the first instance.”