Nicosia v. Amazon.com, Inc.

Dean Nicosia (plaintiff) purchased a weight-loss supplement called 1 Day Diet using an Amazon.com (defendant) account belonging to his wife, Annemarie Nicosia. Although Dean and Annemarie both used the account, it was opened by and belonged to Annemarie. The account was initially free under the Amazon Mom program, which allowed new mothers to enjoy discounted baby products and the benefits of Amazon Prime. The Amazon Mom signup page contained prominently displayed text telling the individual signing up that after the free period was over, she would be charged $79 for Amazon Prime and Amazon Mom benefits. Another prominent notice immediately above the “Continue” button notified the person that by agreeing to continue, the person agreed with the “Amazon Mom Terms and Conditions,” with a hyperlink provided to the terms and conditions. To complete the registration process, the person was taken to a page to input payment information. That page prominently displayed another notice saying that by signing up, the person acknowledged that she had read and agreed with the “Amazon Prime Terms and Conditions” (T&C), with a hyperlink provided to them. The T&C contained a provision indicating that the T&C constituted the entire agreement between the user and Amazon.com, subject to any future changes. At the time the account was opened, Amazon’s conditions of use did not contain an arbitration provision. However, on August 19, 2011, an arbitration clause was added to the T&C requiring any claims related to the use of Amazon.com to be resolved in binding arbitration. In November 2013, the Food and Drug Administration announced that an ingredient in 1 Day Diet was unsafe. Dean brought a class action against Amazon.com. Amazon.com moved to compel arbitration, and the matter was referred to a district-court judge for a report and recommendation. The judge recommended that the motion be granted.