True.com wins a low suit

A user of dating website True.com is suing the owners of the site alleging that its offer of free membership to women but not men amounts to gender discrimination. As part of the case the man, Michael Cohn, argues that he had not agreed to terms and conditions when he clicked 'Continue' on the website's registration form when signing up for a free trial.
True.com's registration form asks for a user's date of birth, screen name, password and email address. A statement follows the last field in the form: "I am at least 18 years old, and I have read and agree to the TRUE Terms of Use and Code of Ethics." Beneath that statement was a single button marked 'Continue'.
The website owner, TrueBeginnings LLC, claimed that clicking on the 'Continue' button represented Cohn's acceptance of the site's terms and conditions.
Cohn said that he had not been forced to read terms and conditions and had not explicitly agreed to abide by them.
The issue was important in the case because Cohn wanted it heard in California. The Terms of Use stipulated that any dispute be heard in Texas. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County had sided with True.com and dismissed the case in California. Cohn appealed.
The Californian Court of Appeal said that there was no reason why Cohn should not have been considered to have entered into an agreement with True.com. That was also the decision to which the first court had come.
"Under these circumstances, where appellant obviously had access to the internet and was entering into a contract on the internet, there was nothing inherently unfair in requiring him to access contractual terms via hyperlink, which is a common practice in internet businesses," it said. "The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that appellant agreed to the forum selection clause contained in the Terms of Use."

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