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A bank employee’s affidavit and evidence of use of the credit card is sufficient to show that a cardholder accepted the terms of a Cardmember Agreement, including its arbitration provisions, a federal court in Missouri held.
In Fahey v. U.S. Bank National Association, No. 4:05CV01453FRB, 2006 WL 2850529 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 29, 2006), Fahey brought an action alleging negligence and violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act on the part of U.S. Bank.
Fahey claimed that he never opened an account with U.S. Bank, and therefore U.S. Bank wrongfully reported information about Fahey’s credit card debt to a credit-reporting agency. U.S. Bank petitioned the Court to compel arbitration based on arbitration clauses in the credit card agreements.
U.S Bank submitted into evidence an affidavit of one of their employees, who stated that Fahey and his then wife opened two joint accounts. The Bank also submitted copies of the credit card billing statements sent to Fahey and his ex-wife and copies of the Cardmember Agreements that contained arbitration clauses.
In granting U.S. Bank’s motion to compel arbitration, the Court noted that the evidence submitted by the bank was sufficient to show that an agreement to arbitrate existed. U.S. Bank did not need to submit a document with Fahey’s signature because use of a credit card indicates acceptance of the Cardmember Agreement terms.
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