Angel Sheree Tennyson v. Walmart Inc.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina adopted a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation concerning Walmart’s motion to dismiss or strike an amended complaint and motion to compel arbitration. The court denied the motion to strike, compelled arbitration based on the parties’ agreement, and stayed the action pending arbitration, concluding that the plaintiff assented to the agreement and had not specifically challenged its delegation clause.

Holdings

1. A party waives objections to a Report and Recommendation when the party failed to present the underlying arguments to the magistrate judge and raises them for the first time in district-court objections.
2. Electronic acceptance of an agreement through an "I agree" or equivalent assent button can establish assent to the agreement, including its arbitration provision.
3. When an arbitration agreement contains a delegation clause and the party resisting arbitration does not specifically challenge that delegation clause, the court must treat the delegation clause as valid and enforce it, leaving arbitrability and unconscionability issues for the arbitrator.
4. The court must compel arbitration where the parties' agreement covers the claims and the resisting party has not established a valid basis to avoid arbitration; the action must be stayed pending arbitration when a stay is requested under 9 U.S.C. § 3.
5. The motion to dismiss or strike the amended complaint was denied.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Tennyson waived objections to assent and unconscionability by failing to raise those arguments before the magistrate judge.
2. Whether the undisputed electronic-signature evidence established Tennyson's assent to the arbitration agreement.
3. Whether the delegation clause required the arbitrator, rather than the court, to decide Tennyson's unconscionability challenge.
4. Whether the court should compel arbitration and stay the action pending arbitration.
5. Whether Tennyson's amended complaint should be stricken as untimely.

Disposition

other