In recent years, numerous businesses have successfully enforced broad arbitration clauses, particularly those embedded in terms and conditions of online service agreements. We previously discussed a noteworthy example from a recent New Jersey appeals panel decision.1 The underlying cause of action in that case stemmed from a motor vehicle collision that occurred while plaintiff was a passenger in a ride share vehicle. The court sent the dispute to arbitration, enforcing an arbitration clause that was included in an the rideshare company’s food-delivery agreement that plaintiff’s daughter had agreed to when ordering food. Although an entirely different set of facts, the arbitration clause contained in the food delivery service agreement was deemed applicable to the claims of a passenger in a rideshare vehicle.2 This is just one recent example of how defendant corporations have succeeded in enforcing ostensibly unrelated arbitration clauses to a spectrum of tangential claims. Indeed, arbitration provisions have proven remarkably effective across a wide spectrum of legal matters, including personal injury claims, discrimination suits, and potentially even antitrust cases. Courts have shown a broad willingness to generally enforce arbitration clauses, including those included in “clickwrap” agreements, which require users to agree to terms and conditions before using a website, completing a software installation, or making an online purchase, that subject consumers to arbitration provisions through everyday digital services.
