When Arbitration Emails Go Unread: Lessons From The Ninth Circuit

On August 5, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision in Rickes v. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., that should prompt retailers and e-commerce merchants to carefully review how they obtain agreement to arbitration provisions and class action waivers. Although the order is unpublished, and involved an employment dispute, the court’s general reasoning will be cited as persuasive authority and carries significant implications for any company that relies on email-based notices to bind individuals to dispute resolution terms. 

The Ninth Circuit’s Decision

Scott Rickes, a former Thermo Fisher manager, brought a putative class action alleging age discrimination and related California claims after his employment ended. Thermo Fisher sought to compel arbitration of his individual claims and dismiss the class claims based on a Mutual Dispute Resolution Agreement (MDRA) distributed to employees by email in 2019. The MDRA said employees would be deemed