Latest 2 Cases: Wilson v. Huuuge, Inc. (Arbitration & Mediation), Columbia Riverkeeper v. Wheeler (Environmental Law)

Taking Stock: A Review of Justice Stevens’s Last Book and an Appreciation of His Extraordinary Service on the Supreme Court

RODGER CITRON

Rodger D. Citron, the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship and a Professor of Law at Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, comments on the late Justice John Paul Stevens’s last book, The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years. Citron laments that, in his view, the memoir is too long yet does not say enough, but he lauds the justice for his outstanding service on the Supreme Court.

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Wilson v. Huuuge, Inc.

Docket: 18-36017

Opinion Date: December 20, 2019

Judge: M. Margaret McKeown

Areas of Law: Arbitration & Mediation, Internet Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of defendant's motion to compel arbitration against plaintiff, a smartphone app user. The panel applied Washington state law and held that defendant did not provide reasonable notice, actual or constructive, of its Terms of Use and thus plaintiff did not unambiguously manifest assent to the terms and conditions or the imbedded arbitration provision. In this case, defendant did not notify users that the app had terms and conditions. Rather, a user would need to seek out or stumble upon defendant's Terms, either by scrolling through multiple screens of text before downloading the app or clicking the settings menu within the app during gameplay.

Columbia Riverkeeper v. Wheeler

Docket: 18-35982

Opinion Date: December 20, 2019

Judge: M. Margaret McKeown

Areas of Law: Environmental Law

A constructive submission will be found where a state has failed over a long period of time to submit a "total maximum daily loads" (TMDL), and clearly and unambiguously decided not to submit any TMDL. Where a state has failed to develop and issue a particular TMDL for a prolonged period of time, and has failed to develop a schedule and credible plan for producing that TMDL, it has no longer simply failed to prioritize this obligation. Instead, there has been a constructive submission of no TMDL, which triggers the EPA's mandatory duty to act. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment for environmental groups in a citizen suit brought under the Clean Water Act, seeking to compel the EPA to develop and issue a long-overdue temperature TMDL for the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The panel held that Washington and Oregon have clearly and unambiguously decided not to produce and issue a temperature TMDL for the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Therefore, the EPA was obligated to act under section 1313(d)(2) of the Act.