Harris v. Blockbuster, Inc.
Harris v. Blockbuster, Inc., 622 F. Supp. 2d 396, established precedent in the district that when a contract has a clause that authorizes one party to make changes to the "contract" without notification, that it is illusory and hence the entire "contract" is void.
Background
Blockbuster operated a service called Blockbuster Online that allowed customers to rent movies through the internet and entered a contract with Facebook to disseminate customers' movie choices through social media on Facebook, whereby Facebook would broadcast a customer's movie rental choice to their Facebook friends when a video rental transaction is made. The plaintiffs claim that agreement with Facebook violates the Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits video service providers from disclosing personal identifiable information without consent.Blockbuster attempted to invoke an arbitration provision that customers agreed to in the "Terms and Conditions" when joining Blockbuster Online. The provision waives the right of its users to commence any class action and allowed Blockbuster to reserves the right to modify the "Terms and Conditions" at its sole discretion and at any time. The plaintiffs argued that the arbitration provision was unenforceable because it was illusory and unconscionable. Blockbuster issued a motion to compel individual arbitration.