SUPREME COURT CLASS ACTION DISPUTE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE
After the Suffolk County Supreme Court denied Teachers Federal Credit Union’s motion to stay all proceedings and compel arbitration in an action which related to fees charged to checking accounts, an appeal ensued.
And on its review, the Appellate Division, Second Department, noted that plaintiff A.D. couldn’t be compelled to arbitrate the dispute in the absence of a valid agreement. And to that end, the credit union needed to show that A.D. knowingly assented to that dispute resolution process.
And while the credit union claimed that it had amended its account agreements to require arbitration back in 2019 -- while a federal action between the parties was pending -- the appellate court noted that A.D. had rejected that amendment, by way of counsel, and thus didn’t consent.
And while the credit union also established that it had refunded the disputed fees to A.D., prior to the action’s commencement, that didn’t render the litigation “academic,” and A.D. continued to have “standing” to maintain the case, given that the dispute still fell within “her zone of interest.”
Check-mate!
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DECISION