“Terms and Conditions of Sale” provided by hyperlink created binding contract

[Thanks to the Technology & Marketing Law Blog and the ContractsProf Blog for alerting me to this case.]

Several purchasers of Dell computers filed a class action lawsuit against Dell in an Illinois court. Dell moved to dismiss the action, or to compel arbitration, based on an arbitration clause found in the “Terms and Conditions of Sale” that were available for viewing by clicking on a blue hyperlink found on each of the pages that website visitors saw during the purchasing process.

Although the plaintiffs admitted that by purchasing computers online they entered into contracts with Dell, they claimed that the Terms and Conditions of Sale containing the arbitration clause were not a part of the contracts. They argued that merely making a link to the Terms and Conditions of Sale available was insufficient, and that Dell should have required purchasers to affirmatively manifest their assent by clicking an “I Accept” box.

Dell argued that it had done enough to make purchasers aware of the Terms and Conditions of Sale. It had provided the link by means of a contrasting blue hyperlink. It had also stated on numerous pages on its website, used for marketing and for purchase, that all sales were subject to the Terms and Conditions of Sale.

The trial court determined that the online terms and conditions had not been “adequately communicated” to the plaintiffs, because Dell did not “provide a display text on the Web site that manifested a clear assent to the terms and conditions,” and because the terms and conditions themselves were not visible on the pages viewed while placing the orders. Accordingly, the trial court denied Dell’s motion to dismiss or to compel arbitration. Dell sought review. The appellate court reversed.

On appeal, the court held that the plaintiffs were properly made aware of the terms and conditions. The hyperlinks appearing on the web pages made the pages “the same as a multipage written paper contract. The blue hyperlink simply takes a person to another page of the contract, similar to turning the page of a written paper contract.” The contrasting blue color of the hyperlink served to make it conspicuous. Finally, the court noted that because the plaintiffs were purchasing computers online, they were not novices, and should have known that more information would have been available by clicking on the link.

Because the Terms and Conditions of Sale were part of the online contract, the court held that the arbitration clause applied. It reversed the decision of the trial court and remanded it with directions to either stay or dismiss the action so that the parties could arbitrate their disputes.

Hubbert v. Dell Corp., — N.E.2d —, 2005 WL 1968774 (Ill.App. 5th Dist., August 12, 2005).

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