On August 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision and ordered arbitration in a dispute under the FCRA involving a consumer reporting agency. The plaintiff alleged that a consumer reporting agency violated the FCRA by reporting inaccurate and derogatory information about his credit history and failed to conduct reasonable inquiries in response to his dispute letters.
The agency sought to compel arbitration, arguing the plaintiff agreed to arbitrate such claims when he enrolled in the company’s affiliated credit monitoring service. The terms of use for the service included a broad arbitration clause, and the enrollment process required users to click a “Create Your Account” button after they viewed a notice that doing so constituted acceptance of the terms. The district court denied the agency’s motion, finding it had not provided sufficient evidence of the plaintiff’s agreement to the terms and excluded a supporting declaration from an executive who oversaw the service.
On appeal, the 4th Circuit held the declaration was admissible, and that the enrollment page provided “clear and reasonably conspicuous” notice of the arbitration agreement. The court distinguished its ruling from other cases where online terms were less visible or unclear, emphasizing that the hyperlink to the terms and the notice above the account creation button were sufficient to establish the plaintiff’s acceptance of the terms. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the appellate ruling.
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