This is the legal opinion on the university case you mentioned in your instructions to me.
Issue:
- Whether you should dismiss your Complaint and opt for arbitration.
- What is the next document you can file in response to the defendant’s motion to dismiss (for the second case)? And how will you file the motion?
Analysis of the Issues:
- Issue 1
The law respects agreements entered between two consenting parties. Therefore, the law will frown upon a party to the contract who goes against the terms that are agreed upon. In that regard, the court will step in to declare and enforce the rights of the contracting parties in the event of a breach of the terms in the agreement.
The term in contention in your case is the Arbitration clause. Arbitration clauses provide several advantages, including: reducing the cost of going to court; reducing the time needed to settle disputes; Arbitration offers flexible scheduling: Arbitration proceedings are simple; and lastly, they are neutral in that they decrease hostility by ensuring that the parties are working together to reach a compromise.
You can only oppose the arbitration clause if you cite factors that might have impeded the contracting process. For example, you may argue to the court that the university fraud you into entering the contract; the contract was made under duress where you were threatened or coerced into signing the contract. You may also argue that the contract was illegal or that it was created for illegal purposes. Lastly, you may state that the contract was unconscionable. Unconscionable simply means that a contract is not right or reasonable to a shocking degree.
In your case, you will find it hard to prove that there was any factor, among the ones I have provided above, that influenced you to enter the contract. And therefore, by singing it, you affirmed to be bound by the arbitration clause.
- Issue 2
In response to the defendant’s motion to dismiss, you should file a motion in opposition. You will argue out the motion at the next hearing, November 11. At the hearing, the judge might ask you anything—even questions about the defendant’s motion to dismiss. Accordingly, you need to fully understand the issues in the dispute.
To file the motion in opposition, you will deliver it to the clerk of the court and serve copies to the defendant.
My Opinion, In Summary:
- You have no option but to resort to arbitration to settle the dispute you have with the university. I base this opinion on the fact that you signed the agreement while joining the university, and I believe the university provided you an opportunity to go through the agreement before signing it. Therefore, it would be hard for you to plead any coercion, duress, or undue influence in opposition to the arbitration clause.
- You shall file the motion in opposition, which I am preparing for you. Ensure you file it as soon as possible so that the judge and the defendant get ample time to go through it before the hearing date.
- Considering all the facts in your case against Walgreens, I believe you have a valid case.
Regards, and all the best!
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