Skuse v. Pfizer, Inc., et al., Docket No. 3027-17-T4 (App. Div. Jan. 16, 2019)

Mandatory arbitration agreement must be supported by affirmative consent, not simply by an acknowledgment of receipt of the policy. Further, court rejected proposition that continued employment can manifest agreement to the arbitration requirement.

In a published and, therefore, binding opinion from the Appellate Division, the court held that Pfizer’s “training module” on its mandatory arbitration policy applicable to employment-related claims was not legally sufficient since the employees acknowledged receipt of the policy but did not affirmatively consent to its terms, as required by the Supreme Court holding in Leodori v. CIGNA. Further, the court rejected Pfizer’s argument, as well as a prior decision of another panel of the appellate division, which allowed consent to be shown by continued employment, as permitted under the policy.

 

Case Law Alerts, 2nd Quarter, April 2019

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