Court Determines Arbitrator Must Decide Whether Claim Is Subject To Arbitration

In Doe v. TCSC, LLC, d/b/a Hendrick Toyota of North Charleston, the South Carolina Court of Appeals punted to an arbitrator to decide whether a car dealer’s broad arbitration provision encompasses events arising four-and-a-half years after Jane Doe purchased her car. The factual context, as described by the court: “Doe returned to the dealership to have the car serviced. She also spoke with a salesman about trading in her 2011 car for a new one. Despite the salesman’s persistent pitches, Doe decided to buy elsewhere. The rebuffed salesman, for reasons known only to him, sought revenge by posting an ad posing as Doe on a sexually explicit website, together with Doe’s contact information. Minutes later, Doe began receiving strange telephone calls and text messages, some of which were sexually suggestive.”