Woods v. Airbnb, Inc.

Background

Cindy Woods’s amended complaint alleges that her adult daughter, Monique Woods, booked an Airbnb rental in Croatia and died on May 14, 2022, from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gases from an improperly installed gas boiler. Woods asserted seven causes of action against Airbnb and Vesna Salamunovic, who allegedly owns the property. The claims included wrongful death, negligence, survival, premises liability, breach of contract, violation of California Business and Professions Code § 17500, and negligent design or maintenance.

Airbnb, Inc. and Airbnb Payments, Inc., together referred to as Airbnb, moved to compel arbitration of the claims asserted against them and to stay the claims pending arbitration. Woods did not file a response. The court vacated the scheduled hearing and decided the motion based on the written submissions.

Arbitration Agreements

Under the Federal Arbitration Act, the court determines whether a valid arbitration agreement exists and whether it covers the dispute. Airbnb submitted evidence that both Monique Woods and Cindy Woods accepted Airbnb terms of service containing arbitration provisions.

Monique Woods accepted Airbnb terms when creating an account in 2015 and again accepted updated terms in 2022. The updated terms provided for binding individual arbitration of disputes arising out of or relating to the terms or use of Airbnb’s platform, host services, or content. Those terms also delegated to the arbitrator the question of whether the arbitration agreement applied to a dispute.

Cindy Woods accepted Airbnb terms when creating an account in 2013. Her terms required arbitration of disputes arising out of or relating to the terms, their enforcement or validity, or the use of Airbnb’s services, site, or application. Those terms did not delegate to the arbitrator the question whether the agreement covered the dispute.

Court’s Analysis

As to the survival claims—claims Woods brought as the successor-in-interest to her daughter—the court held that the daughter’s arbitration agreement required those claims to be arbitrated. Because the agreement delegated disputes about its scope to the arbitrator, the court granted Airbnb’s motion as to those claims.

As to the claims Woods brought in her personal capacity, including the wrongful-death claims, the court held that her arbitration agreement did not cover disputes based solely on another person’s use of Airbnb’s site, application, or services. The court therefore denied Airbnb’s motion as to those claims.

Disposition

The court granted in part and denied in part Airbnb’s motion to compel arbitration. It granted the motion as to the claims asserted on behalf of the decedent and against Airbnb, and stayed those claims pending completion of arbitration proceedings. In all other respects, it denied the motion. The court also denied Airbnb’s separate request for a seven-day extension to file its reply as moot.