Alleged Faulty Arbitration Provision at Center of Kansas Age-Verification Case
When the terms and conditions of a website violate the law, it doesn't matter that a person agreed to them, a plaintiff argued in a case against adult website Multi Media.
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The plaintiff is a parent suing the adult site and several others on behalf of her minor child in the U.S. District Court for Kansas for failing to adhere to the state's age-verification law (see 2505130023). Multi Media, however, said the suit should be dropped for failure to state a claim (see 2506240043).
The plaintiff disagreed with Multi Media's argument that the user "agreed to an arbitration provision" in the site's terms and conditions and therefore waived the right to litigate. "That argument fails for multiple independent reasons: (1) any alleged agreement is void because it is illegal and violates Kansas public policy; (2) no valid or enforceable contract was ever formed; and (3) even if an agreement exists, Plaintiff has disaffirmed it by filing this action."