4 ms·

There should be real skepticism about arbitration in user agreements, but didn’t make it easier in this case? Only someone rich or famous enough to entice a fre

by jibe 4y ago

There should be real skepticism about arbitration in user agreements, but didn’t make it easier in this case? Only someone rich or famous enough to entice a free lawyer could afford to sue PayPal over a suspended account. But many many more people could afford to try arbitration.

photochemsyn 4y ago
There are probably greater risks to a company if the case goes to something like a jury trial. Here, they may have run afoul of 'political discrimination' which some locales have made illegal. For example, there was a 'refusal to provide services to a Trump employee' case in New York: > "Had the incident taken place in Washington, D.C., it would have likely been illegal. The District of Columbia has an anti-discrimination law covering political affiliation. In Madison, Wisconsin, it most certainly would have been. The city’s broad non-discrimination clause defines political beliefs and physical appearance in its law. Political views can include 'opinions, manifested in speech or association, concerning the social, economic, and governmental structure of society and its institutions.' " Hence a dedicated person could plausibly incorporate their business in the District of Columbia, and then bring a (potentially very expensive and public) lawsuit against PayPal on the basis of political discrimination. Such incidents might be relatively rare, but they could also have major negative PR effects as well as the possibility of large jury awards, outcomes that binding arbitration is designed to avoid. https://huckleberry.com/blog/right-to-refuse-service/ https://huckleberry.com/blog/right-to-refuse-service/ As far as where the line between 'respectable political affiliation' and 'member of a violent organization' lies, Irish history is worth looking at, i.e. Sinn Fein vs. the IRA.
ufmace 4y ago
That's what I'm thinking. Okay this was a little weird and byzantine, but wouldn't it be like 1000x harder, more expensive, and more byzantine to hire a lawyer, file an actual lawsuit, and take it at least past the initial stages, i.e. surviving a motion to dismiss?
aidenn0 4y ago
The only issue I saw here was that the process was buried in a giant service agreement, and customer support was factually incorrect about possible recourse.

by jibe 4y ago

photochemsyn 4y ago

There are probably greater risks to a company if the case goes to something like a jury trial. Here, they may have run afoul of 'political discrimination' which some locales have made illegal. For example, there was a 'refusal to provide services to a Trump employee' case in New York: > "Had the incident taken place in Washington, D.C., it would have likely been illegal. The District of Columbia has an anti-discrimination law covering political affiliation. In Madison, Wisconsin, it most certainly would have been. The city’s broad non-discrimination clause defines political beliefs and physical appearance in its law. Political views can include 'opinions, manifested in speech or association, concerning the social, economic, and governmental structure of society and its institutions.' " Hence a dedicated person could plausibly incorporate their business in the District of Columbia, and then bring a (potentially very expensive and public) lawsuit against PayPal on the basis of political discrimination. Such incidents might be relatively rare, but they could also have major negative PR effects as well as the possibility of large jury awards, outcomes that binding arbitration is designed to avoid. https://huckleberry.com/blog/right-to-refuse-service/ https://huckleberry.com/blog/right-to-refuse-service/ As far as where the line between 'respectable political affiliation' and 'member of a violent organization' lies, Irish history is worth looking at, i.e. Sinn Fein vs. the IRA.

ufmace 4y ago

That's what I'm thinking. Okay this was a little weird and byzantine, but wouldn't it be like 1000x harder, more expensive, and more byzantine to hire a lawyer, file an actual lawsuit, and take it at least past the initial stages, i.e. surviving a motion to dismiss?

aidenn0 4y ago

The only issue I saw here was that the process was buried in a giant service agreement, and customer support was factually incorrect about possible recourse.