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When is a liquidated damages clause enforceable?

Posted on Sep 25th, 2023

In the case of Cummings Properties, LLC vs. Darryl C. Hines, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court considered the enforceability of a liquidated damages clause in a commercial lease agreement. The court upheld the clause and ruled in favor of Cummings Properties, LLC.  https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2023/09/25/p13406.pdf

 

Here are the key points from the summary:

  1. Background: The case involved a commercial lease between Cummings Properties and Massachusetts Constable’s Office, Inc. (MCO), with Darryl C. Hines as the personal guarantor. The lease had a provision for liquidated damages in case of rent default.
  2. Liquidated Damages Clause: The liquidated damages clause allowed Cummings Properties to terminate the lease and collect the entire balance of rent due as liquidated damages if MCO failed to pay rent after a ten-day grace period.
  3. Default and Lawsuit: MCO failed to pay rent shortly after the lease took effect, leading Cummings Properties to initiate legal action. MCO vacated the premises, and Cummings Properties subsequently leased the space to a new tenant.
  4. Enforceability of Liquidated Damages Clause: The central issue was whether the liquidated damages clause was enforceable. The court applied the “single look” approach, which focuses on the circumstances at the time of contract formation.
  5. Two-Prong Test: To enforce a liquidated damages clause, two conditions had to be met: (a) actual damages at the time of contract formation were difficult to ascertain, and (b) the sum agreed upon as liquidated damages represented a reasonable forecast of damages in case of a breach.
  6. Burden of Proof: Hines, as the party seeking to invalidate the clause, had the burden of proving that either actual damages were easily ascertainable at the time of contract formation or that the damages specified in the clause were disproportionate.
  7. Court’s Findings: The court found that Hines failed to provide evidence to support his claims that actual damages were easily ascertainable or that the damages specified in the clause were disproportionate.
  8. Mitigation Not Required: The court emphasized that under the single look approach, mitigation of damages, such as rent collected from a new tenant, was not a consideration in determining the enforceability of the liquidated damages clause.
  9. Sophistication: Hines argued that he was not a sophisticated party and should not be bound by the clause. The court found that Hines demonstrated some business acumen and sophistication, making him accountable for the contract terms.
  10. Judgment: The court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court, upholding the enforceability of the liquidated damages clause and ruling in favor of Cummings Properties.

In summary, the court upheld the liquidated damages clause in the commercial lease, emphasizing that it was enforceable because it represented a reasonable forecast of damages at the time of contract formation. The court also considered Hines to be sufficiently sophisticated to be held accountable for the contract terms.


Federal Court Holds Uber’s “Sign-In-Wrap” Online Agreement Enforceable under Massachusetts Law

Posted on Sep 12th, 2016

By: Richard Gauthier

In a recent consumer class action case brought against Uber Technologies, the Massachusetts U.S. District Court held that the binding arbitration clause in Uber’s Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) was enforceable and prevented the consumers from seeking a class action in a court of law.  This decision is noteworthy because along with the ruling on arbitration clauses, it provides a thorough summary of the Massachusetts case law on the enforceability of online agreements.  It also highlights that Massachusetts law is favorable for the enforcement of such online agreements, perhaps more so than New York.

The plaintiffs in this case alleged that Uber overcharged them by imposing fictitious fees hidden in charges for legitimate local tolls. They sought class action relief for unfair and deceptive practices pursuant to Chapter 93A and common law claims for unjust enrichment. Uber moved to enforce the arbitration clause in the Terms pursuant to the FAA, and the Court agreed.

The Terms contained the following provision related to arbitration:

“[You] agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or the use of the Service or Application (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration, except that each party retains the right to bring an individual action in small claims court. . . . You acknowledge and agree that you and Company are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class User in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and Company otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding.”

The Court began by analyzing whether the Terms were valid under general Massachusetts contract law principles.  A significant portion of this discussion relies on Ajemian v. Yahoo!, Inc.,  a 2013 Massachusetts court decision that we previously discussed here.  In this analysis, the Court provided a very helpful summary of Massachusetts law on the various types of online agreements:

  • Adhesion Contracts:  Massachusetts law applies the same general analysis as other jurisdictions with respect to the enforceability of online adhesion contracts.  Such agreements will be enforced provided they have been “reasonably communicated and accepted” and “it is reasonable to enforce the provision at issue.”

The Court then compared the different types of online agreements, which evolved from shrinkwrap software licenses that have come into use since the computer era:

  • A “Browsewrap” agreement is where the user “does not see the contract at all but in which the license terms provide that using a Web site constitutes agreement to a contract whether the user knows it or not”, or “[w]here the link to a website’s terms of use is buried at the bottom of the page or tucked away in obscure corners of the website where users are unlikely to see it.”
  • A “Clickwrap” agreement is an online contract “in which website users are required to click on an “I agree” box after being presented with a list of terms and conditions of use.
    • The Court commented that Clickwraps are more enforceable than Browsewraps because they “permit courts to infer that the user was at least on inquiry notice of the terms of the agreement, and has outwardly manifested consent by clicking a box.”
  • A “Sign-In-Wrap” Agreement (a term coined in a 2015 decision by Judge Weinstein of the EDNY) is somewhat of a hybrid between the Browsewrap and Clickwrap.  A “Sign-In-Wrap” Agreement does not have an “I accept” button and the user is not required to view the terms and conditions to use the related web service.  These agreements typically make terms and conditions available by link and provide that by registering for an account, or signing into an account, the user agrees to those terms and conditions.

In this case, the Court adopted the “Sign-In-Wrap” terminology and held that such agreements may be enforceable under Massachusetts law.  Here, the Court found that Uber’s Terms were a Sign-In-Wrap agreement.  The Court then summarized Massachusetts law on the enforceability of online agreements in general, as follows:

  • Online consumer agreements “will be enforced provided they have been reasonably communicated and accepted and if, considering all the circumstances, it is reasonable to enforce the provision at issue.”
  • The party seeking to enforce the contract has “the burden of establishing, on undisputed facts, that the provisions of the online agreement were reasonably communicated and accepted, which requires “[r]easonably conspicuous notice of the existence of contract terms and unambiguous manifestation of assent to those terms by consumers.” 

Reasonably Conspicuous Notice

  • The Court held that Massachusetts law does not require proof of actual notice of the terms of the Agreement.  All that is required is that the users have reasonable notice.  Uber’s language on the final screen of the account registration process (“By creating an Uber account, you agree to the Terms of Service & Privacy Policy”) was found sufficient. 
  • While the dispute resolution/arbitration clause did not appear until the user scrolled down to the 8th/9th page, the Court was satisfied that the user had reasonable notice because the heading for the clause was in bold and much larger than other non-heading text.
  • Notably, the Court refused to adopt the four-step process used by the EDNY Court that first coined the Sign-In-Wrap phrase, which would have required a factual analysis of the actual notice to the user.  The Court held that such an analysis would be impractical and make online agreements much more difficult to enforce, which this Court was unwilling to do.

Manifestation of Assent

  • The Court adopted a similar reasonable test for determining whether the user’s assent can be found.  Specifically, the Court held that the “Done” button on Uber’s website (as opposed to “I accept” or other similar buttons) was sufficient for finding that the user understood that by clicking this button it has consummated account registration and was bound by the Terms.

Having found that the Terms were enforceable, the Court quickly made its way to conclude that the binding arbitration clause and the waiver of class action remedies too were enforceable.  The Court noted that this standard favors arbitration and that the only exception would be where the arbitration itself would be an “illusory remedy.” Here, as Uber offered to pick up the arbitration costs for any claims up to $75,000, arbitration would not be illusory and that the clause should be binding.

 

 


E-commerce Expands Personal Jurisdiction for Businesses

Posted on Dec 3rd, 2013

A recent Massachusetts Appeals Court decision impacts businesses that deal with out of state companies, an issue that is much more common today thanks to the advent of e-commerce. Diamond Group, Inc. v. Selective Distribution International, Inc. expands personal jurisdiction and allows a Massachusetts business lawsuit to move forward against a Long Island company. The finding is based on the orders placed over emails between the two businesses.

Diamond, a Massachusetts company, sued Selective Distribution in a Massachusetts court for 45 unpaid invoices. Selective Distribution, a Long Island business, filed a motion to dismiss based on a lack of personal jurisdiction. The argument Selective made was the standard “minimum contacts” argument from the 1945 International Shoe case: the business had no presence in Massachusetts, and all deliveries it received came to its warehouses in New York and New Jersey.

The Court examined the International Shoe criteria and based its decision within them, albeit expanding them. First, the Court found that the series of email orders itself constitutes “purposeful availment” of Massachusetts commercial activity. Distinguishing this case from others in which personal jurisdiction was found absent based on the International Shoe standards, the Court explained that this ongoing pattern was far different than cases where single purchases or isolated transactions were involved. In contrast, Selective was a regular and active participant in Massachusetts commercial circles and this deliberate and routine involvement signaled that “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice” would not be offended by the assertion of personal jurisdiction over the business.

Whether or not the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will accept further appellate review is up in the air. For now, the clear take away is that doing business online with out of state companies can open your business up to liability in other states if this expanded understanding of personal jurisdiction holds up. This case is an important reminder of the benefits of including a governing law and dispute resolution clause in your contract forms to provide for a favorable locale as the exclusive forum for any proceedings to take place.

If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to email us.


California Adopts Three New Data Privacy and Security Laws Affecting Online Companies

Posted on Oct 22nd, 2013

In September 2013, California signed into effect three new laws relating to privacy and data breach. The first is online privacy bill A.B. 370 which amends the California Online Protection Act to add privacy policy disclosure requirements regarding online tracking activity by website operators.  This amendment goes into effect on January 1, 2014.

Under current California law, operators of commercial websites or online services (including mobile applications) that collect personally identifiable information (commonly referred to as “PII”) through the Internet about consumers residing in California who use or visit their commercial website or online service to conspicuously post a privacy policy on its website or online service and to comply with that policy.  The privacy policy is required to disclose the categories of PII that are collected and the categories of entities with whom such information is shared.

The 2013 law requires an operator that collects PII concerning a consumer’s online activities now also to disclose (1) how it responds to Web browser ‘do not track’ signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of a PII, and (2) whether third parties may also collect PII about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across different websites when a consumer uses the operator’s website or service.

To be compliant with the new law, a privacy policy must not meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Identify the PII categories that the operator collects through the website or online service about individual consumers who use or visit its commercial website or online service and the categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the operator may share that PII.
(2) If the operator maintains a process for an individual consumer who uses or visits its commercial website or online service to review and request changes to any of the consumer’s PII that is collected through the website or online service, provide a description of that process.
(3) Describe the process by which the operator notifies consumers who use or visit its commercial website or online service of material changes to the operator’s applicable privacy policy.
(4) Identify its effective date.
(5) Disclose how the operator responds to Web browser “do not track” signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of PII about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services, if the operator engages in that collection.
(6) Disclose whether other parties may collect personally identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across different websites when a consumer uses the operator’s website or service.
(7) An operator may satisfy the requirement of paragraph (5) by providing a clear and conspicuous hyperlink in the operator’s privacy policy to an online location containing a description, including the effects, of any program or protocol the operator follows that offers the consumer that choice.

The second new law is S.B. 46, which adds to the current data security breach notification requirements a new category of data triggering these notification requirements: A user name or email address, in combination with a password or security question and answer that would permit access to an online account. The new law also provides more guidance on how website operators can satisfy disclosure obligations when a breach involves personal information that allows access to an online or email account.  This law also goes into effect on January 1, 2014.

Finally, S.B. 568, relates to online privacy protection for minors. This law will prohibit online marketing or advertising of certain products and services (such as alcohol, tobacco, and U/V tanning products) to children and teenagers under 18.  This law goes into effect on January 1, 2015.

Impacted companies must take the opportunity presented before these laws come into effect to examine their data collection, data privacy, and security policies and practices to determine whether they demand any updates. If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to email us.


Recent Massachusetts Appeals Court Decision Interprets Enforceability of Online Terms and Conditions

Posted on May 9th, 2013

A recent Massachusetts appeals court decision by holds that a forum selection and limitation of liability clause is not enforceable under Massachusetts law in a browsewrap agreement.  This decision is a useful read both for lawyers drafting these documents and product developers and UI folks that create the user experience during which these legal terms are viewed and accepted.

The case involves the interpretation of Yahoo!’s Terms of Service (TOS) relating to its free email service.  The case was brought by the administrators of the estate of a Yahoo email user to get court approval for access to the account and the content of the emails.  Because the Yahoo! TOS had a forum selection clause requiring that all disputes be brought in California, the Court had the opportunity to interpret the enforceability under Massachusetts law of such clauses in online agreements.

After noting that the Court has not previously considered the enforceability of forum selection and limitation of liability clauses in online agreements, it looked to the case law on such issues in traditional paper contracts.  In those cases, courts have enforced such provisions as long as they have been reasonably communicated and accepted and if, considering all the circumstances, it is reasonable to enforce the provision at issue.  The burden on the first prong fall on the issuer of the TOS.  On the second prong (that the TOS themselves were reasonable), in the forum selection case, the burden falls on the plaintiffs, and no such burden applies in case of a limitations provision.

Applying this standard to online agreements, the Court held that Yahoo! did not meet their burden of showing the TOS were reasonably communicated and accepted.  Yahoo!’s affidavit that users were “given an opportunity to review” the TOS and Privacy Policy prior to registering” was not sufficient by itself.  The Court could not infer from that affidavit that the TOS were actually displayed on the user’s screen.  If the user was asked to follow a link to the TOS — which is a pretty typical user experience — Yahoo!’s affidavit would have to have provided the specific instructions relating to the link, how prominently displayed was the link, and any other information bearing on the reasonableness of this communication.

The Court also held that Yahoo! failed in showing that the TOS were accepted.  Past cases have enforced such provisions only in click-wrap agreements (where “terms of the agreement were displayed, at least in part, on the user’s computer screen and the user was required to signify his or her assent by clicking ‘I accept.’”), but not in browsewrap agreements (where ”website terms and conditions of use are posted on the website typically as a hyperlink at the bottom of the screen.”).

On that basis, the Court refused to extend the enforceability to browsewrap agreements and held that the record did not show “the terms of any agreement were reasonably communicated or that they were accepted.”

This case is reminder that legal attention to one’s online form agreements is a necessary part of operating a web-based business.  Especially if the offering is free (or fremium), website owners should take appropriate caution, and may want to sacrifice a little user experience and customer conversion in favor of knowing that to ensure that those online terms and conditions are actually going to be enforceable when the time comes.