TCPA defendants looking to enforce arbitration provisions have been on a roll as of late.

Not long ago cases like Gamble and Berman left companies wondering if TCPA claims were subject to arbitration and whether online forms could get it done, but the last few courts to look at the issue have enforced arbitration agreements straightaway.

In the latest case the Defendant didn’t even sign the agreement and the court enforced it anyway!

In Bradford v. Briden, 2024 WL 1839458 (S.D. Tex. April 26, 2024) the Defendant moved to compel arbitration arguing an arbitration clause in a dental services agreement required Plaintiff to pursue his TCPA claim in arbitration.

Lots of interesting issues with the case–which included a physical arbitration provision in a new patient package–but the most interesting issue is that while the Plaintiff signed the agreement, Briden dental did not. Nonetheless the Court found the agreement enforceable:

Under Texas law, when a party’s signature is missing, that party’s conduct reflecting action in accord with the contract’s terms evidences assent. It is undisputed that Brident prepared the Arbitration Agreement on its letterhead, and presented it to Bradford for him to sign voluntarily, as it does for every patient visiting a Brident dental office for the first time or for the first time in over a year. Brident kept Bradford’s signed agreement in his file, and then sought to enforce the agreement against Bradford upon the filing of this suit. Texas courts have found that these actions evidence a business’ intent to be bound even when the business has not signed an arbitration agreement.

Because there is no language in the Arbitration Agreement from which the court can conclude that the parties intended to require signatures of both parties to create a binding contract, and because Bradford fails to offer evidence that the parties intended the arbitration agreement to be binding only after both parties had signed it, the court concludes that there was a valid arbitration agreement between Bradford and Brident. 

So there you go.

Arbitration compelled and TCPA class action dismissed even where agreement wasn’t signed by the business. Pretty interesting, no?

Obviously this could have gone the other way–real highwire act here by the dental folks, wouldn’t advise handling your contracts this way. SIGN THEM! (free tip. hahahah)