Summary
Pursuant to Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 (applicable to the case at issue), Italian courts have jurisdiction over the proceedings for opposition brought by a company having its seat in Spain against a summary order for payment (decreto ingiuntivo) issued upon application of an Italian company seeking the immediate release of a motor boat subject to a lease agreement and the payment of a compound sum due in relation to such agreement (resulting from unpaid lease payments, interests, costs, 3/5 of lease payments due for the future and interest on arrears), as a choice-of-court clause contained in the general terms and conditions conferred upon the Tribunal of Firenze the exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from the lease agreement, in compliance with Art. 1341 of Italian Civil Code, and, according to the Supreme Court of Cassation, a choice-of-court agreement contained in a lease agreement covers all the disputes depending from or linked to the agreement.