Potential Limitations Placed On Unilateral Right To Modify Terms Of Use

Contractual provisions giving a website operator the unilateral right to change its end user terms of service are ubiquitous and appear in the online terms of many major social media sites and other websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google. Although amendments to terms of service quite often cause consumers to complain, litigation regarding such changes is relatively rare. A recent decision from the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio, however, challenges the enforceability of unilateral amendments to online terms of service in at least some circumstances.

In Discount Drug Mart, Inc. v. Devos, Ltd. d/b/a Guaranteed Returns, Discount Drug Mart, a distributor of pharmaceuticals, sued Guaranteed Returns, a company that processes pharmaceutical product returns, for Guaranteed Returns' failure to remit credits due under a written distribution agreement between the parties. Guaranteed Returns pointed to the forum selection clause on its