I Agreed to What?

Just before the end of the year, a United States District Court judge in North Carolina reinforced the notion that arbitration agreements are binding.  In the case Surgeon v. Warehouse Home Furnishings Distributors, the Plaintiff alleged that he was not required to go to arbitration with Warehouse even though there was an agreement in place to that effect.  Judge Cogburn agreed with the Defendant and granted the Motion to Compel Arbitration.

The Plaintiff, Surgeon, relied upon the argument that, since the agreement was on the back side of the double-sided installment contract into which he entered, it did not apply to him.  As the court noted, “incorporation by reference is acceptable in North Carolina even if reading the additional terms requires an extra step by the signor.”  Since the front side of the contract contained disclaimers that an arbitration provision and jury trial waiver were incorporated by reference, that was sufficient to bind Surgeon to the arbitration agreement.

Surgeon’s claims that he did not see or explicitly agree to the arbitration agreement were insufficient to overcome the finding of constructive notice.

To read the case, click here.