Are Pre-Dispute Agreements to Arbitrate Online Enforceable?

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of online dispute resolution and the near-ubiquitous nature of pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate in consumer contracts, these trends have not yet collided in the form of a pre-dispute agreement to arbitrate in an online forum. This article explores these parallel upward trends, the reasons such clauses are not yet in use, and concludes that pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate online may soon come into use. Next, it relies on current precedents to examine the likely enforceability of pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate online and conclude such agreement would most often be enforced. Finally, the article closes by surveying the likely implications of permitting pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate online.

Keywords: law, arbitration, contracts, ODR