“Arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between us” means what it says, the Eleventh Circuit holds. Impact of disclosure of subscriber info to an expert goes to the Arbitrator.
The arbitration clause in the DIRECTV customer agreement provided for arbitration of all “claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between us, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory” (emphasis added). Was this language broad enough to encompass the customer’s claims arising out of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (“STELA”). “Yes,” says a unanimous Eleventh Circuit in Cordoba v. DIRECTV, LLC, No. 18-14832 (Feb. 19, 2020) (per curiam) (unpublished).
Clause is Construed Broadly
Says the Court: “[Customer] Romero’s STELA claim is a direct derivative of his ‘relationship’ with DIRECTV. Romero alleges that DIRECTV violated Section 338(i)(4) of STELA, which prohibits a ‘satellite carrier’ from the nonconsensual disclosure of ‘personally identifiable information concerning any subscriber.’ 47 U.S.C. § 338(i)(4)(A). Romero is a paying subscriber of DIRECTV. That is the entirety of the relationship between the two. If not for Romero’s subscriber relationship with DIRECTV, the factual allegations underlying his claim would be non-existent -- DIRECTV would not have his information to share. This subscriber relationship both predicates Romero’s STELA claim and delineates the ‘relationship’ referenced and governed by the Customer Agreement’s arbitration provision. Accordingly, Romero’s STELA claim necessarily arises out of his relationship with DIRECTV as contemplated by the arbitration clause. Simply put, without this subscriber relationship, Romero has no STELA claim. Therefore, because of this relationship, such STELA claim is subject to arbitration” (footnote omitted).
(ed: *Seems right. **The alleged STELA violation occurred when DIRECTV shared a customer database with its expert witness in connection with the underlying putative class action.)
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