This question has been addressed in 1 Texas court opinion:
COA11 — February 20, 2026
The Eleventh Court of Appeals denied mandamus relief, affirming a trial court's refusal to enforce a forum-selection clause and its denial of jurisdictional discovery. The case involved a Canadian entity attempting to move a dispute to Alberta based on unsigned 'Order Acknowledgments.' The court reasoned that because the documents specifically required a signature as the method of acceptance, the lack of a signature meant no agreement was formed. Furthermore, the court held that internal financial authorizations (AFEs) were not discoverable because contract formation depends on objective manifestations of intent shared between parties, not private internal budgeting documents.
Litigation Takeaway
“An unsigned contract cannot typically enforce a forum-selection clause if the document itself specifies a signature is required for acceptance. Additionally, internal financial documents and 'budgeting' data are generally shielded from discovery in contract disputes because they do not constitute objective evidence of what the parties communicated to one another.”