How many of us actually bother to read the Terms&Conditions seriously, whenever putting our name to paper. We might shuffle through the pages when it is a physical document we are signing but most of us rush through the T&C page presented by Internet based service providers almost as if it wasn’t even there. In an example of how we should actually read the fine print, Uber has told a US court that its customers to agreed to bring in disputes through private arbitration when they signed up for the service.
The case stems from a Class action lawsuit by Connecticut Uber passenger Spencer Meyer over surge pricing. Meyer claimed that the practice of surge pricing was actually in violation of federal antitrust laws. Making his case before a three-judge 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel, Uber Attorney Theodore Boutrous asked the case to be send to arbitration. This is something that U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff had refused to do last year.
In his argument, Boutrous said that a normal Uber customer had plenty of chance to go through the T&C right when they registered and agreed to use Uber’s services. As such, it is their responsibility to read all the conditions that are mentioned. Meyer’s lawyer Jeffrey Wadsworth differed from this assessment and said that the customer can’t be expected to know that they were giving up their right to sue Uber simply by using the service.
To register means to put your name on an official list. It does not mean you’re engaging in some complex contractual transaction.
However, circuit judges Susan Carney and Reena Raggi said that by agreeing to provide credit card information, Uber customers were going beyond merely putting their names on a list and were actually agreeing to the company’s terms and conditions, whether they actually bothered to read through them or not.
