forum shopping

or fo·rum-shop·ping

[ fawr-uhm shop-ing ]

noun

, Law.

1. the act or practice of choosing a jurisdiction in which to file a lawsuit as a way of trying to increase one's chance of winning the case: Compare judge shopping ( def ).

   She was accused of forum shopping after she filed her case in a state she was not a resident of, but where defamation laws are stricter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of forum shopping¹

First recorded in 1945–50