Are Pre-Dispute Agreements to Arbitrate Online Enforceable?
Are Pre-Dispute Agreements to Arbitrate Online Enforceable?, 7 ARB. BRIEF (2020).
39 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2020 Last revised: 3 Feb 2021
Date Written: January 25, 2020
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
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