Really? This is a thing now? The District Court held that a company can bind a consumer to an arbitration provision and class action waiver in a rolling contract of adhesion. Fortunately, the Ninth Circuit didn’t buy it, but why is it even a close call?
In November 2011, Erik Knutson bought a Toyota which came with a 90-day subscription to Siriux XM Radio (Sirius). About a month into his trial subscription, Sirius sent Knutson a “welcome kit.” That welcome kit included a customer agreement with an arbitration clause and class action waiver. According to the customer agreement, its terms became binding if Knutson did not contract Sirius to cancel his 90-day trial within three business days. Knutson also received unsolicited phone calls from Sirius on his cell phone. He filed a putative class action suit against Sirius for violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
