“Determination of Valid Arbitration Agreement May Be Dependent on ‘Outward Manifestations and Circumstances Surrounding the Transaction’”

The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Reichert v. Rapid Investments, Inc. provides a reminder that the enforceability of an arbitration provision requires the same factual analysis applicable to contracts in general. As discussed in this article by Benjamin Stearns of Carlton Fields, published in JD Supra, the court, applying Washington state law, held that two individuals signing a contract with the same arbitration provision may find themselves in different situations regarding arbitrability based on factual circumstances going to the issue of whether there indeed was assent to the agreement.