Post Tagged with: "arbitration"

Ontario Court Rules Consumers Can’t Click Away Class Action Rights

In 2004, Ian Andrews purchased a Dell laptop computer for $1,700.  About 2 1/12 years later, the computer began to malfunction, periodically shutting down unexpectedly. Stuck with a problem computer that was past the standard warranty period, Andrews complained to Dell.  The computer giant responded that the online contract governing the initial purchase required him to resolve the dispute by arbitration.

Andrews recognized this was not a realistic approach, later stating that as a university student he was not in a financial position to retain counsel to support an arbitration claim. Instead, he chose a different course of action, suing the company as part of a class action lawsuit that brought together thousands of consumers experiencing similar problems.

Dell challenged the class action suit, but as my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes, last month the Ontario Court of Appeal sided with Andrews, ruling that it could proceed.

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February 9, 2010 4 comments Columns

Dell Case Sets Standard For Online Contracts

Appeared in the Toronto Star on July 30, 2007 as Dell Case Sets Standard for Online Contracts Late on a Friday afternoon in April 2003, Dell Computer's Canadian website featured a pair of erroneous prices for the Axim, the company's handheld computer.  Rather than listing the two versions of the […]

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July 30, 2007 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Courts, Online Contracts and Arbitration Clauses

I've been silent thus far on the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision involving Dell Computer and online contracting (that will change next week), but in the meantime it is worth noting that the Washington Supreme Court issued a decision one day before the SCC handed down the Dell decision […]

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July 25, 2007 Comments are Disabled News