Johnson v. Uber Techs., Inc.
| Decision Date | 20 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | 16 C 5468 |
| Parties | CHARLES CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON, individually and as the representative of a class of similarly-situated persons, Plaintiff, v. UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff Charles Johnson, on behalf of himself and as representative of a putative class, has sued Defendant Uber Technologies, Inc. ("Uber") for allegedly sending him an unsolicited text message in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47 U.S.C. § 227. The parties have cross-moved for summary judgment as to whether they agreed to arbitrate this dispute. For the following reasons, Uber's motion is granted [56], and Johnson's motion is denied [75]. The class claims are dismissed without prejudice, and this case is stayed pending the resolution of arbitration proceedings.
The following facts are undisputed. Johnson is a college graduate who works as a freelancer in animation, production, and art management. Def.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 1-2, ECF No. 58. His job involves working with technology, software, and mobile applications ("apps"). Id. ¶ 3. Johnson has downloaded apps on his phone and is familiar with the type of sign-up process that involves agreeing to the terms and conditions required by the entity providing the app. Id. ¶ 4.
Uber is a software technology company. Id. ¶ 8. Uber's software application ("Uber app") enables smartphone users to request rides from third-party drivers. Id.
On July 8, 2013, Johnson downloaded the Uber app to his Android-operated smartphone. Id. ¶ 25. He then completed each of the steps required to create an Uber account. Id. ¶¶ 25-27; see Pl.'s Ex. B, Mi Dep. Ex. 6, Johnson Analytics, ECF No. 77-2.
According to Vincent Mi, Uber's Senior Software Engineer, Johnson used a sign-up process that required him to complete certain steps through screens entitled: (1) Create an Account, (2) Create a Profile, and (3) Link Card. Def.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 9. No scrolling was required to view content on any of the three screens. Id. ¶ 10. The user is required to fully complete each screen before proceeding to the following screen. Id. ¶ 11.
On the initial "Create an Account" screen, the user inputs in an email address, mobile phone number, and password. Id. ¶ 12. After providing that information, the user is prompted to click on the text of the "Next" button, which appears in the upper-right corner. Id. After clicking this button, the user is directed to the "Create a Profile" screen, which contains fields for the user's first and last names. Id. ¶ 13. Once these fields are completed, the user is again prompted to click on the text of the "Next" button that appears in the upper-right corner. Id. ¶ 14.
After clicking the "Next" button, the user then is directed to the "Link Card" screen. Id. This screen contains a total of five lines of content. Id. ¶ 15. The first line is a field for a credit or debit card number. Id. The second line features the text "scan your card" and "enter promo code." Id. The third line states: "This card will only be charged when you request an Uber." Id. The fourth and fifth lines at the bottom of the screen warn that "[b]y creating an Uber account, you agree to the Terms of Service & Privacy Policy." Id. This statement appeared in an easy-to-read font. Id. Additionally, the words, "Terms of Service & Privacy Policy," are contained in an outlined box, indicating a hyperlink that, when clicked, brings the user to a screen displaying Uber's Terms of Service in effect at the time. Id. ¶¶ 15, 18.
When Johnson created an Uber account, the first paragraph of the Terms of Service provided the following:
In order to use the Service . . . and the associated application . . . you must agree to the terms and conditions that are set out below. By using or receiving any services supplied to you by the Company (collectively, the "Service"), and downloading, installing or using any associated application supplied by the Company which purpose is to enable you to use the Service (collectively, the "Application"), you expressly acknowledge and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Agreement and any future amendments and additions to this Agreement as published from time to time at https://www.uber.com/terms or through the Service.
Pl.'s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 19, ECF No. 77. The Terms of Service defined "use" as "access[ing] or us[ing] the Service or Application." Def.'s Ex. D, Terms and Conditions updated May 17, 2013, ECF No. 63.
The Terms of Service also included a section entitled "Dispute Resolution," which stated in the first paragraph:
You and Company agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or the use of the Service or Application (collectively, "Disputes") will be settled by binding arbitration, except that such party retains the right to bring an individual action in small claims court and the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party's copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights. You acknowledge and agree that you and Company are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class User in any purported class action or representative proceeding.
Def.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 20 (emphasis in original).
Johnson admits it is possible that he may have seen, clicked on, read, and indicated that he accepted Uber's Terms of Service & Privacy Policy when he created his Uber account, but he does not recall doing so. Id. ¶ 28. However, it is worth noting that, although Johnson also could not recall entering payment information when he created an account, it is undisputed that Uber's records show that Johnson submitted his Chase debit card information on the "Link Card" screen. Id. ¶¶ 29, 32.
Within a few days of creating the account, Johnson opened the Uber app to see how it worked, to see what the rates were like, to check out the map to see if Uber drivers were in his area, to look at drivers' estimated arrival times, and to generally determine whether the app was useful in comparison to hailing a cab. Id. ¶ 34. Thatsaid, Johnson never requested a ride using the Uber app. Pl.'s LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. ¶ 46, ECF No. 77.
Johnson claims to have deleted the Uber app from his phone, but he does not have any documentary evidence to support that assertion. Def.'s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 38. Johnson claims that afterwards, Uber sent a single unsolicited text message to his mobile phone number asking him whether he wanted to sign up to be an Uber driver. Pl.'s LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. ¶ 52.
"The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Shell v. Smith, 789 F.3d 715, 717 (7th Cir. 2015). To survive summary judgment, the nonmoving party must "do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts," Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 (1986), and instead must "establish some genuine issue for trial such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in her favor." Gordon v. FedEx Freight, Inc., 674 F.3d 769, 773 (7th Cir. 2012).
The evidence considered for summary judgment "must be admissible if offered at trial, except that affidavits, depositions, and other written forms of testimony can substitute for live testimony." Malin v. Hospira, Inc., 762 F.3d 552, 554-55 (7th Cir. 2014). The Court gives the nonmoving party "the benefit of conflicts in the evidenceand reasonable inferences that could be drawn from it." Grochocinski v. Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, LLP, 719 F.3d 785, 794 (7th Cir. 2013).
Moreover, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 requires a court to grant a summary judgment motion "against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). The moving party has the initial burden of establishing that there is no genuine issue of material fact. See id. Once the moving party has sufficiently demonstrated the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party must then set forth specific facts showing there are disputed material facts that must be decided at trial. See id. at 321-22.
The Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") was enacted to "reverse the longstanding judicial hostility to arbitration agreements that had existed at English common law and had been adopted by American courts, and to place arbitration agreements upon the same footing as other contracts." Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U.S. 20, 24 (1991)). "The FAA provides for stays of proceedings in federal district courts when an issue in the proceeding is referable to arbitration, and for orders compelling arbitration when one party has failed or refused to comply with an arbitration agreement." E.E.O.C. v. Waffle House, Inc., 534 U.S. 279, 289 (2002). Pursuant to the FAA, courts are mandated to enforce valid, written arbitrationagreements. Tinder v. Pinkerton Sec., 305 F.3d 728, 733 (7th Cir. 2002) (citing 9 U.S.C. § 2).
To this end, "arbitration is a creature of contract." Sgouros v. TransUnion Corp., 817 F.3d 1029, 1033 (7th Cir. 2016). It is "well settled that where the dispute at issue concerns contract formation, the dispute is generally for courts to decide." Granite Rock Co. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 561 U.S. 287, 296 (2010); see Mohammed v. Uber Techs., Inc., 237 F. Supp....
To continue reading
Request your trial