User Without Notice Of Online Agreement Cannot Be Compelled To Arbitrate

Richard Raysman is a Partner in Holland & Knight's New York office

It is uncontroversial to posit that most people sign far more contracts online than the time-honored method, ubiquitous during the pre-Internet era, of putting pen to paper. Given the dissimilarities between signing a contract online, with its hyperlinks, scroll boxes and assent buttons, and in person with a Bic, a veritable flood of case law as to the legality of an online contract has arisen. Since one of the earliest and most notable decisions in the Second Circuit in 2002, courts nationwide have tried to square the circle as to the problem of when and why a user has manifested objective assent to be bound to online terms and conditions. The Seventh Circuit has confronted this issue on numerous occasions, and it did yet again in a decision issued last week in Sgouros v. TransUnion Corp., No. 15-1371 (7th Cir. Mar. 25, 2016). The decision may stand out though, as the judge held that the website