Recently, we learned about a dirty little secret buried in Shimadzu's Terms and Conditions of Sale. Most customers seldom read the fine print of sales agreements relying instead on the good name of a company and it's reputation. Here should be some good cause for alarm when choosing to do business with Shimadzu Scientific:

Under the subsection entitled APPLICABLE LAW: JURISDICTION VENUE, the "customer hereby expressly consents to jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Maryland on all matters relating hereto" including but not limited to prices, product specifications (which are subject to minor changes.... this is scary), terms of payment, shipment, returned goods, taxes, warranty, contingencies, etc. Shimadzu's Terms and Conditions continues that "litigation shall be brought in the courts of Howard County."

This means that if you have a disagreement with Shimadzu Scientific and decide to pursue the matter in court, you must litigate in the courts of Howard County, Maryland.... no ifs, ands or buts! If you live in Baltimore or Denver or San Francisco, you must travel to Howard County, Maryland to have your day in court. The large distances involved probably discourage the average customer from filing suit. If you have problems, you could be stuck with Shimadzu's unpalatable corporate decisions, responses and/or service.

Consider, however, if Shimadzu decides to file a lawsuit against the customer to enforce some nuance in their sales agreement. Well, we hope you like to have your travel plans dictated to you because according to Shimadzu's Terms and Conditions of Sale, you'll be spending some time in Maryland whether you like it or not! Since 1995, Shimadzu has filed suit against four different valued customers from across the United States. Do you want to be next.... it's not an unlikely occurrence! You may even be forced to pay court costs and Shimadzu's attorney fees.... how's that for a slap in the face?

Remember, that your sales agreement with Shimadzu Scientific including the receipt of goods & services is subject to the laws of the State of Maryland. Are you prepared to spend your time, effort and money travelling to the State of Maryland to right a wrong? Do you really need to do business with a company that requires travel on their turf to do battle? Is the balance of justice tipped in Shimadzu's favor? Can power and influence be bought in the courts of Howard County? It has to make one wonder if the deck is not stacked against any customer litigating in Howard County, Maryland! You can make your choices simple.... just take your business elsewhere!

One final note: What happens if Shimadzu Scientific goes out of business, where will the customer have to go to litigate or seek remedial action.... Kyoto, Japan?