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Hearnv.Comcast Cable Communications, LLC

CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Docket No.19-14455
DecidedApril 5, 2021
Reporter992 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 2021)
JudgesCharles R. Wilson, Britt C. Grant, and Gerald B. Tjoflat, Circuit Judges
Tags
CivilConsumer ProtectionContract LawArbitrationContract InterpretationCivil ProcedureReversalRemand
Case Summary

After Michael Hearn ended his Comcast service in 2017, he called in 2019 to ask about obtaining service again; he alleged that Comcast used information retained from his prior account to check his credit without permission, lowering his score, and sued under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) on behalf of a putative class. Comcast sought arbitration under the prior Subscriber Agreement, whose broad clause covered disputes related to Comcast and survived termination; the district court denied the motion, finding Hearn’s FCRA claim unrelated to the agreement. The Eleventh Circuit held that the claim related to the agreement because Comcast’s retained customer information enabled the alleged credit check and the agreement addressed reconnection and credit inquiries, even accepting Hearn’s account that he sought a new account rather than reconnection. The court reversed and remanded for consideration of the parties’ remaining challenges to arbitration, including whether the provision was enforceable; it expressly did not decide whether the clause’s full breadth was enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.

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