Every day, millions of consumers scroll through legal terms and conditions in electronic contracts and click “I agree” to obtain goods and services online. Yet some companies’ online procedures do not even come close to creating enforceable contracts in cyberspace, as evidenced by several recent court decisions.
Some of the cases question whether the parties reached a binding agreement, while others concern the authenticity of e-signatures. Still others focus on whether adequate notice of terms and conditions was given. For example, in February a federal district court in Connecticut held in Schnabel v. Trilegiant Corporation that an arbitration clause included in a welcome e-mail but not referenced on subsequent sign-up screens is not enforceable as part of the contract between a user and an online service.
