Robert Reagan v. Stored Value Cards, Inc. ( 2015 )

Case: 15-10364 Date Filed: 06/18/2015 Page: 1 of 4
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 15-10364
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:14-cv-01187-AT
ROBERT REAGAN, on behalf of himself and
all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
STORED VALUE CARDS, INC.,
CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK AND
TRUST COMPANY, ENID, OKLAHOMA,
Defendants - Appellants.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
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(June 18, 2015)
Before MARCUS, WILLIAM PRYOR, and COX, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Stored Value Cards, Inc. (“Stored Value Cards”) and Central National Bank
and Trust Company, Enid, Oklahoma (“Central National Bank”), appeal the district
Case: 15-10364 Date Filed: 06/18/2015 Page: 2 of 4
court’s order (Doc. 24) denying their motion to compel arbitration pursuant to an
arbitration clause in a Cardholder Agreement (“Agreement”). We affirm.
I. Facts and Proceedings Below
The Plaintiff, Robert Reagan, was jailed overnight in the Rockdale, Georgia,
County Jail on a charge that later was dropped. When booked, he turned over
$764.00 in cash to his jailers. When released the next day, he was given in lieu of
his cash a pre-paid debit card worth $764.00 issued by Central National Bank
through Stored Value Cards. He had no option to get cash or a check instead.
Simultaneously, he received from the jailers a packet of documents that included
the Agreement, which was printed in illegible five-point type. The jailers did not
tell Reagan that the Agreement was in the packet. And, Reagan did not know that
the Agreement was in the packet. The Agreement, which Reagan had no
opportunity to read and did not sign, included an arbitration clause. After Reagan
brought in state court this putative class action challenging fees attendant to using
the card, Stored Value Cards and Central National Bank removed the case to
federal district court and filed a motion to compel arbitration. The district court
denied the motion because there were factual disputes as to whether Reagan agreed
to arbitrate.
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II. Standard of Review
We review de novo a district court’s order denying a motion to compel
arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act. Becker v. Davis, 491 F.3d 1292, 1297
(11th Cir. 2007).
III. Discussion
The parties agree that arbitration is contractual, and that arbitration may not
be compelled if the parties did not mutually assent to the Agreement containing the
arbitration clause. 1 Mutual assent requires a meeting of the minds on the essential
terms of the contract. The parties agree that whether they formed the Agreement is
for district courts to decide. See Granite Rock Co. v. Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, ___
U.S. ___, 130 S. Ct. 2847, 2855-58 (2010); Solymar Invs., Ltd. v. Banco
Santander, S.A., 672 F.3d 981, 989-90 (11th Cir. 2012).
Stored Value Card and Central National Bank contend that Reagan’s use of
the card constituted assent to the Agreement and, in turn, to the arbitration clause.
Reagan contends that the “usage rule” is inapposite, and that there is an issue of
fact to be resolved by the district court as to whether Reagan assented to the
Agreement.
1
The parties also agree that Georgia law applies as to whether mutual assent existed in
this case. John K. Larkins, Jr., Ga. Contracts Law and Litigation § 3.2 (2d ed.); Jones v. Frickey,
618 S.E.2d 29, 31 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005).
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The district court concluded that fact issues exist to be resolved by the court
or a jury as to whether Reagan assented to the Agreement and, hence, assented to
the arbitration clause. (Doc. 24, 7-10). The district court noted that issues of fact
exist as to whether Reagan’s use of the card constituted assent to the Agreement’s
terms because: (1) he did not apply for the card; (2) he was not offered a line of
credit that he could choose to use or not use; (3) the Agreement did not come in the
same envelope as a card for which Reagan had applied; and (4) Reagan did not use
it for a long period of time. (Id., 10-11).
We have reviewed the briefs and the appellate record excerpts cited by the
parties. We need not add anything to the district court’s opinion. The district court
correctly held that issues of fact exist to be resolved by the court or a jury as to
whether Reagan agreed to arbitrate with Stored Value Cards and Central National
Bank. 2
IV. Conclusion
For the reasons stated in this and the district court’s opinion, we affirm the
order of the district court denying the motion to compel arbitration filed by Stored
Value Cards and Central National Bank.
AFFIRMED.
2
We agree with Stored Value Cards and Central National Bank that unconscionability is
for the arbitrator to decide, but disagree with their contention that the district “conflated”
formation issues with unconscionability.
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