Edward Venard v. Jackson Hole Paragliding, LLC, a Wyoming LLC, Tom Bartlett, Scott Harris, Matt Combs, Jon Hunt, Andrew Frye, and Jeff Coulter, 292 P.3d 165

Venard sustained severe injuries during a paragliding training session at Palisades Reservoir, Wyoming, where he was towed by a boat and fell 35 feet.
Venard was a USHPA member and sought a Flight Proficiency Rating; both required signing a Release, Waiver and Assumption of Risk Agreement.
The USHPA agreement includes a forum selection clause designating California law and California courts for disputes.
Appellees filed a motion to dismiss in Wyoming based on the forum clause, arguing they were third-party beneficiaries and California is proper.
The district court granted dismissal, concluding the forum clause was enforceable against Venard; Venard appealed.
The Wyoming Supreme Court reverses, concluding the forum clause is not enforceable against non-parties in this dispute.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court abused its discretion enforcing the forum clause.	Venard: third-party beneficiaries cannot be bound; no advance consent.	Appellees: are bound as third-party beneficiaries or via consent.	Yes; the district court abused discretion; clause not enforceable against non-parties.
Whether Venard and Appellees consented in advance to California forum.	Venard: no advance consent by Appellees.	Appellees: consent through their USHPA agreements suffices.	No; no advance consent by Appellees to California jurisdiction.
Whether prior California-consent by non-signatories binds them to the clause.	Not applicable; not signatories to contract.	Non-signatories bound as third-party beneficiaries.	Not applicable; not bound.

Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (U.S. 1991) (forum clauses aid predictability and efficiency, but must be fair)
M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., 407 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1972) (forum clauses are prima facie valid in international contracts)
Durdahl v. Nat'l Safety Assocs., Inc., 988 P.2d 525 (Wyo. 1999) (enforceability depends on freedom of contract and predictability)
TAAG Linhas Aereas de Angola v. Transamerica Airlines, Inc., 915 F.2d 1351 (9th Cir. 1990) (nonparty beneficiary related to contract may be bound)
Ly v. Dryclean U.S.A. of California, 11 Cal.App.4th 1490 (Cal. App. 1992) (non-signatories bound when closely related to contract)
Frietsch v. Refco, Inc., 56 F.3d 825 (7th Cir. 1995) (mutuality principle; non-signatories may be bound)
Manetti-Farrow, Inc. v. Gucci America, Inc., 858 F.2d 509 (9th Cir. 1988) (closely related parties may invoke forum clause)