New Jersey
Civil Justice Institute

  • Helpful Links
  • Contact Us
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • Our Mission
    • Membership
    • Our Staff
  • ISSUES & ADVOCACY
  • OUR WORK IN THE COURTS
  • NEWSROOM
  • GET INVOLVED

Fairness. Justice.
Rule of Law.

Appellate Division Rules Minors Bound by Arbitration

October 29, 2020NewsNJCJI

In a recent unpublished opinion, the New Jersey Appellate Division held that a minor can be bound by an arbitration agreement. Clare v. ACT, Inc. (N.J. App. Div., October 26, 2020). 


Plaintiff took the ACT college admissions test several times. A dispute arose concerning Plaintiff’s scores. The trial court invalidated ACT’s arbitration clauses on multiple grounds including Plaintiff’s age (he was 17 when he took the second test and 18 when he took the third test). 


The Appellate Division reversed. 


As to Plaintiff’s age, the Court stated:

“[W]e disagree that, under these circumstances, a minor cannot be bound to an arbitration agreement. As described, Brendan was informed of defendant’s contractual terms and conditions at the time of registration for the exam, and twice on testing day. There was no time pressure to complete the registration process; a registrant had all the time he or she needed to review the terms and conditions and inquire of a parent or other adult the meaning of its provisions. Brendan’s age alone is insufficient to void the arbitration agreement.” (Opinion at 14.)


Should you wish to discuss this matter further please contact Shalom Stone, Stone Conroy, sstone@stoneconroy.com or 973-400-4182.

Newsletter Sign Up




© 2022 NJCJI. All rights reserved.

Follow us on:

  • twitter
  • linkedin

TWITTER FEED TWITTER FEED

  • https://t.co/DlWbCRFBea, Jul 1
  • https://t.co/xl0stnCZfj NJCJI President Anthony Anastasio testified this week about the implications of NJ Senate… https://t.co/o55d5pA29b, Jun 24
  • https://t.co/x2z9vrW707 Thank you to @PPAGInc, @GenovaBurns, and @PBWTLaw for your support of the 2022 Spring Event!, Jun 21
  • Institute for Legal Reform Releases Update on Third-Party Litigation Funding https://t.co/UQDqeUQ712, Apr 15
  • The American Tort Reform Association issued a report about the National Association of Attorneys General. https://t.co/14sYVCKPrY, Apr 8

    QUICK CONTACT



    Please enter the code as shown below

    captcha

    New Jersey Civil Justice Institute | 112 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608 | office: (609) 218-6331 | info@civiljusticenj.org