Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Blue Bird, LLC v. Nolan (Cir. Ct. Mont. Cnty)

Filed April 28, 2009
Opinion by Judge Ronald B. Rubin

Held: Deciding an issue of first impression in the State, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County held that an internet "click-wrap" agreement governing terms of use of a website is valid and enforceable under Maryland law.

Facts: The issue arose in connection with the defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The defendants' sole contacts with the State were over the internet. Among the relevant contacts, the defendants agreed to terms of use on the plaintiff's website by clicking "I accept." The terms included a forum selection clause whereby the defendants purported to consent to jurisdiction in the State. The court applied an objective standard to evaluate the formation of a contract and concluded that the defendants manifested their assent to the terms of use by clicking.

The full opinion is available in PDF.

Tackney v. United States Naval Academy Alumni Association, Inc. (Ct. of Appeals)

Filed May 14, 2009.
Opinion by Judge Clayton Greene, Jr.

Held: Ordinarily, Maryland courts will not interfere in the internal affairs of a voluntary membership organization unless there is evidence of fraud, irregularity, or arbitrary action.

Affirming the Circuit Court's dismissal of a challenge to an election of trustees in a voluntary membership organization for failure to state a claim. Pursuant to the standard elucidated in NAACP v. Golding, 342 Md. 663, 678, 679 A.2d 554, 561 (1996), the Court of Appeals found the board's actions not sufficiently arbitrary to warrant intervention in the organization's internal affairs.

The full opinion is available in PDF.