A federal court in Arkansas granted summary judgment dismissing a credit card holder's claim that the credit card issuer violated the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by, for instance, filing an arbitration claim when there was allegedly no agreement to arbitrate. As the Court noted, it was clear that the parties had entered into an arbitration agreement, and as such, the Court confirmed the arbitration award that had been rendered in favor of the card issuer.

In Pham v. Chase Bank USA, N.A., No. 1:07CV0005 JMM, 2008 WL 94739 (E.D. Ark. Jan. 7, 2008), Pham had a credit card account with Chase. The cardholder agreement was later amended to include an arbitration agreement, and Pham did not exercise her right to reject this amendment. Accordingly, when Pham defaulted on her account, Chase filed an arbitration claim for the unpaid balance.

Pham did not appear at arbitration, and the arbitrator issued an award in favor of Chase. Pham subsequently sued Chase for alleged TILA violations, including her allegation that Chase violated TILA by filing an arbitration claim when there was no arbitration agreement.

Chase moved for summary judgment dismissing Pham's claims, while Pham sought to dismiss her claims without prejudice. The Court granted Chase's motion for summary judgment and dismissed Pham's claims with prejudice because the undisputed facts did not reveal any TILA violations. For instance, as the Court noted, it was clear that the parties had entered into an arbitration agreement.

The Court also confirmed the arbitration award in favor of Chase because there was no basis for vacating the award.