Indiana Court Rules That Silence and Inaction Does Not Effect Arbitration Addendum Assent

On October 24, 2023, the Supreme Court of Indiana ruled on a case involving a consumer’s acceptance of a credit union’s (“CU”) arbitration addendum. Land v. IU Credit Union, ___ N.E.3d ___, 2023 WL 6985790 (Ind., Oct. 24, 2023). The case focused on two key facts: (i) whether notice to the consumer of an arbitration addendum was reasonable and valid and (ii) whether the consumer’s silence and inaction amounted to assent to the arbitration addendum. The subject of the lawsuit is a proposed 2019 addendum to an agreement between a CU and its consumer. The addendum was provided to the consumer via email and U.S. postal mail, proposing the following amendments: (i) that either party may require arbitration for disputes regardless of the other party’s consent and (ii) that the consumer is prohibited from initiating or joining in a class action lawsuit. Read More