Powell-Perry v. Branch Banking & Trust Co.

734 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96154
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMay 10, 2010
DocketMDL No. 2036
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 734 F. Supp. 2d 1279 (Powell-Perry v. Branch Banking & Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Powell-Perry v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 734 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96154 (S.D. Fla. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTIONS TO COMPEL ARBITRATION

JAMES LAWRENCE KING, District Judge.

This CAUSE comes before the Court upon the Defendant Banks’ five (5) Motions to Compel Arbitration currently pending before this Court.1 Coordinated Oral Argument on all Motions to Compel Arbitration was held on April 20, 2010.2

I. BACKGROUND

Defendants petition this Court under Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) for an order compelling Plaintiffs to move these proceedings to arbitration in the manner provided for in the parties’ agreements.3 9 U.S.C. § 4. Plaintiffs concede that their agreements all contain mandatory arbitration provisions, but contend that the deficiencies in these agreements, when read as a whole,- make the arbitration provisions unenforceable. The Court agrees and Defendants’ Motions to Compel Arbitration are therefore denied.

II. DISCUSSION

The FAA embodies a strong policy in favor of enforcing valid arbitration agreements. Green Tree Fin. Corp.-Ala. v. Randolph, 531 U.S. 79, 89, 121 S.Ct. 513, 148 L.Ed.2d 373 (2000). Under the FAA, a written agreement to arbitrate is “valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.” 9 U.S.C. § 2. “Thus, generally applicable contract defenses, such as fraud, duress, or unconscionability, may be applied to invalidate arbitration agreements without contravening § 2.” Doctor’s Assoc., Inc. v. Casarotto, 517 U.S. 681, 686-87, 116 S.Ct. 1652, 134 L.Ed.2d 902 (1996). State law may be applied to determine the validity of an arbitration agreement if the law at issue governs contracts generally and not arbitration agreements specifically. Id. at 687, 116 S.Ct. 1652.

Here, Plaintiffs generally assert that, under applicable state law, the arbitration clauses in these agreements are both proeedurally and substantively unconscionable.4 Regarding substantive unconsciona[1283]*1283bility, Plaintiffs assert that the class action waiver contained in each of the Agreement’s arbitration provisions5 makes the arbitration provisions substantively unconscionable. If forced to abide by the class action waiver, Plaintiffs must proceed on an individual basis. Plaintiffs allege that they would not be able to find legal representation and would be unable to bear all the costs and fees associated with the action themselves. As none of these class action waivers can be severed from the arbitration clauses,6 Plaintiffs argue that the arbitration provisions in their entirety are rendered unenforceable.

Accordingly, the Court addresses the applicable state’s interpretation of unconscionability and the specific facts of each case in the following order: (A) Defendant BB & T’s Motion in Powell-Perry governed by North Carolina law; (B) Defendant BB & T’s Motion in Barras governed by South Carolina law; (C) Defendant M & T’s Motion in Givens governed by Maryland law; (D) Defendant Regions’ Motion in Hough governed by Georgia law; and (E) Defendant SunTrust’s Motion in Buffington governed by Georgia law.

A. BB & T’s Motion in Powell-Perry under North Carolina Law

In Powell-Perry, the parties agree that North Carolina law governs this issue. In North Carolina, “[a] party asserting that a contract is unconscionable must prove both procedural and substantive unconscionability.” Tillman v. Commer. Credit Loans, Inc., 362 N.C. 93, 655 S.E.2d 362, 370 (2008) (citing Martin v. Sheffer, 102 N.C.App. 802, 403 S.E.2d 555, 557 (1991)). Moreover, the unconscionability analysis is fact-intensive, and must be undertaken on a case-by-case basis. See Bradford v. Rockwell Semiconductor Sys., 238 F.3d 549, 556 (4th Cir.2001) (“We believe that the appropriate inquiry is one that evaluates whether the arbitral forum in a particular case is an adequate and accessible substitute to litigation, i.e., a case-by-case analysis.”). With this principle in mind, the Court will address procedural unconscionability first, followed by substantive unconscionability.

“[P]rocedural unconscionability involves ‘bargaining naughtiness’ in the form of unfair surprise, lack of meaningful choice, and an inequality of bargaining power.” Tillman, 655 S.E.2d at 370. Although this is a case-by-case inquiry, the North Carolina Supreme Court has identified several factors that are integral to the analysis, including the fact that: i) there was no mention of the disputed provision at the time of signing the contract; ii) the agreement was presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis — that is, the bank would [1284]*1284have refused to enter the agreement rather than negotiate the terms of the arbitration provision; iii) there was a disparity in bargaining power and sophistication between the parties; and iv) the agreement was drafted by the bank and contained mostly boilerplate terms. Id.

Here, all of those factors weigh in favor of finding that the arbitration provision is procedurally unconscionable. There is no indication in the record that the arbitration provision was pointed out to Plaintiff before she signed the Agreement. The Agreement was presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis and Plaintiff had no opportunity to negotiate the terms of the arbitration provision. Moreover, there is an obvious disparity in bargaining power and sophistication between Plaintiff and BB & T: This Agreement did not involve two corporations negotiating the terms of a deal; rather, Plaintiff had neither the knowledge nor the power to understand that she was waiving her right to a judicial forum or to articulate an objection to such a waiver. Finally, the Agreement was drafted by the bank and contained thirty-two pages of single-spaced, small print, boilerplate language. While the first paragraph of the arbitration provision is in bold and all capital letters, the other six paragraphs, which contain the details of the provision, are in standard type. Taking all of these factors together, the Court determines that Plaintiff has sufficiently demonstrated procedural unconscionability.

“Substantive unconscionability ... refers to harsh, one-sided, and oppressive contract terms.” Tillman, 655 S.E.2d at 370. There is no specific formula for analyzing substantive unconscionability; rather, it is “a determination to be made in light of a variety of factors.” Id. (quotations and citations omitted).

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In Re Checking Account Overdraft Litigation
734 F. Supp. 2d 1279 (S.D. Florida, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
734 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powell-perry-v-branch-banking-trust-co-flsd-2010.