Associate Justice Scott L. Kafker penned a lone dissenting opinion, indicating that he does not believe a hyperlink provides reasonable notice and saying the legal community has not solved some of the key issues regarding online contracts.
In a 4-1 decision Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court sided with Uber’s argument that the ride-hailing company’s screen-blocking pop-up alert, notifying customers of its updated terms, gave reasonable notice to a registered rider that he would be limiting his $63 million damages claim to arbitration.
A customer, William Good, sued Uber Technologies after he called for a ride in 2021 when a pop-up screen advised that the company had “updated” its “terms” and provided a hyperlinked “Terms of Use” and “Privacy Notice” line. Uber “encourage[d]” users to read the terms in full. While Good was not required to click on it to continue booking his ride, he was required to click a confirm button.
