Ohanian v. Apple Inc.

Background

T-Mobile USA, Inc., and Apple Inc. each filed a renewed motion to compel arbitration of Plaintiff Ohanian’s claims. Arbitration is a private process for resolving a dispute instead of proceeding in court. The motions followed limited discovery about whether Ohanian had agreed to arbitrate.

On August 30, 2021, the court found a triable issue of fact—meaning a factual dispute requiring resolution based on evidence—about whether Ohanian received a prepaid confirmation form containing notice of T-Mobile’s terms and conditions, including an arbitration clause. The court held an evidentiary hearing on October 13, 2021. Brian Anderson testified for T-Mobile, and Ohanian testified on his own behalf. The court considered five exhibits: the receipt Ohanian received when activating T-Mobile service on April 19, 2016; the confirmation form containing the arbitration provision; a different version of that form that T-Mobile had previously claimed to provide; a screenshot of system metadata; and a Russian-language Telegram post by Ohanian.

Legal standard

The parties’ memoranda assumed that New York substantive law governed the relationship between Ohanian and T-Mobile. Under that law, the party seeking arbitration must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a valid arbitration agreement exists. A binding contract requires a meeting of the minds and a sufficiently definite manifestation of mutual assent. A person who lacks actual notice of contract terms may nevertheless be bound if the person had inquiry notice of the terms and assented through conduct that a reasonable person would understand as assent.

Court’s findings

After considering the evidence, the witnesses’ credibility, and the parties’ earlier submissions, the court found that T-Mobile had not proved by a preponderance of the evidence that it provided Ohanian with the prepaid confirmation form containing the arbitration agreement. The court stated that this finding was further explained on the record at the October 13 hearing. Because T-Mobile did not meet its burden of proving an enforceable agreement between T-Mobile and Ohanian, the court did not require arbitration on that basis.

Order

The court denied the motions to compel arbitration brought by T-Mobile and Apple Inc. The court directed the parties, by October 22, 2021, to confer and submit a proposed case-management plan and scheduling order for the remainder of discovery concerning both of Plaintiffs’ claims. It also required a joint letter proposing a briefing schedule for any motion to dismiss Ohanian’s claims, describing settlement discussions and any interest in a settlement conference, and providing other information that might assist the court. The parties were also directed to deliver the five hearing exhibits and a translation of Ohanian’s Telegram post to the court. The clerk was directed to close the motions at Docket Nos. 79 and 81.