Opinion ID: 1436159
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: AT & T's class action waiver is unconscionable under the three-part Discover Bank test.

Text: a. AT & T's WSA is a contract of adhesion. As we noted in Shroyer, a contract of adhesion under California law is a standardized contract imposed on the subscribing party without an opportunity to negotiate the terms. Id. The Concepcions were given the standardized WSA without the opportunity to negotiate the terms. Thus, under California law, it is a contract of adhesion. b. The dispute involves predictably small amounts of damages. In both Shroyer and Discover Bank the damages at issue were found to be predictably small. The plaintiffs in Shroyer sued under cell phone contracts, claiming damages in the hundreds of dollars range based on the cost of obtaining new cell phone service with other companies. 498 F.3d at 984. In Discover Bank, the plaintiff sought to recover a $29 fee charged for late credit card payments that were claimed not to be late. 30 Cal. Rptr.3d 76, 113 P.3d at 1104. Each court determined that these amounts were small enough to satisfy the second prong of the Discover Bank test. See Shroyer, 498 F.3d at 984; Discover Bank, 30 Cal. Rptr.3d 76, 113 P.3d at 1110. Here, the damages are $30.22 [5] for the sales tax charged on cell phones AT & T advertised were free. This is comparable to the amount of damages in Discover Bank, and well below the hundreds of dollars found predictably small in Shroyer.