Coinbase Inc. can’t force consumers who challenged a $1.2 million Dogecoin sweepstakes program to arbitrate claims alleging it failed to disclose that entrants didn’t have to buy or sell the cryptocurrency, the Ninth Circuit affirmed Friday.
The lawsuit is governed by the contest’s rules, which include a forum selection clause giving California courts exclusive jurisdiction over any controversies regarding the sweepstakes, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said.
When plaintiff David Suski and the others created their accounts, they acquiesced to the “Coinbase User Agreement,” which contained an arbitration provision stipulating that the arbitrator decides its scope. ...