On September 7, 2023, Justice Borrok of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Chablaney v. Gemini Trust Co., LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op. 33127(U), holding that plaintiffs were bound by the terms of an online user agreement containing an arbitration provision, explaining:
With respect to the motion to compel arbitration, Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini) is a privately-owned cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2014 which lets customers buy, sell, trade and securely store more than 60 cryptocurrencies. Significantly,
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).
when Gemini decided to change its user agreement to provide for arbitration, they sent out an email highlighting that their alternative dispute provision had changed, included a hyperlink of the revised agreement (which users could access without agreeing to the terms of the revised agreement), encouraged users to read the revised agreement including its alternative dispute provision and provided an email address where users could email any questions that they had about the revised agreement. The complaint does not allege that the plaintiffs made any such inquiry or that they were otherwise not provided this information. In addition, on the log-in screen, Gemini fully disclosed that the alternative dispute resolution provision had changed and indicated that by signing in users were agreeing to be bound by the revised agreement including its dispute resolution provision. The plaintiffs signed in and by doing so agreed to the terms of the revised agreement, including the agreement to arbitrate. As such, the motion to compel arbitration is granted and this lawsuit as consolidated is stayed (CPLR 7503[a]).