JustAnswer Fails in Appeal to Arbitrate User Subscription Claims

A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected JustAnswer LLC’s attempt to compel arbitration in a proposed class action accusing the company of unlawfully enrolling customers into monthly subscriptions.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said justanswer.com users weren’t on notice of the website’s terms of service or an arbitration clause they contained, and thus no contracts to arbitrate were formed. The panel affirmed the lower court’s arbitration denial.

The website allows users to pay for subject-matter experts to answer their questions. Six users said asking such questions auto-enrolled them into a monthly subscription, and that cancellation was ...