Opinion ID: 4533977
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Burnett

Text: For Burnett, the defendants pin all their hopes on the purported mailing of the Burnett Card Agreement. Like with Mason, the defendants’ argument depends on whether their evidence shows that the mailbox rule’s presumption of receipt was triggered. So as with Mason, the defendants were required to present evidence based on personal knowledge that the Burnett Card Agreement was in fact placed in the mail. And also as with Mason, the defendants’ attempt to do so depends on a single declaration, this time from Angel Nayman. Here, though, the similarities with Mason’s case end. Unlike with Mason, the defendants have provided enough evidence to trigger the mailbox rule’s presumption as it pertains to Burnett. And because Burnett does not attempt to rebut that presumption, we reverse the district court’s denial of the defendants’ motion to compel with respect to Burnett. Nayman, a Lead Litigation Analyst for Synchrony, attested that “Synchrony’s records show that the credit card for the [Burnett] Account was mailed to Anita [Burnett] at the address on record . . . on or about April 11, 2008[,] via the United States Postal Service First Class Mail.” “Enclosed with the credit card was a copy of the effective credit card account agreement,” i.e., the Burnett Card Agreement, “that governs the Account.” Nayman claimed that those facts fell “within [her] 18 Case: 18-14019 Date Filed: 05/13/2020 Page: 19 of 21 personal knowledge” and were “based upon [her] review of relevant business records of Synchrony.” So Nayman’s declaration checked all the boxes that the Winship declaration and the declaration at issue in Bazemore left incomplete. Nayman attested that she had personal knowledge of the mailing and that claim, unlike Winship’s claim, was properly supported because Nayman was not testifying about third-party conduct. And unlike the declarant in Bazemore, Nayman stated that her personal knowledge was based upon review of her own employer’s records, which she “regularly access[ed] and review[ed]” as part of her employment responsibilities. The sum total of Nayman’s testimony therefore constitutes competent evidence that the Burnett Card Agreement was placed in the mail. We are not persuaded by Burnett’s arguments to the contrary. First, Burnett contends that Nayman’s declaration provided no basis for her purported knowledge of the mailing and did not detail the documents she reviewed nor attach any documents supporting her claim. We are unpersuaded. Burnett articulates no good reason why we should ignore the foundation Nayman’s own declaration provides. Again, the situation here differs significantly from that with Winship. Winship purported to claim personal knowledge about the inner workings of two companies that he did not work for. Nayman, on the other hand, testified based on her own personal knowledge to only facts about the goings- 19 Case: 18-14019 Date Filed: 05/13/2020 Page: 20 of 21 on within the company she worked for. She also laid a proper foundation to support the statement that she possessed personal knowledge of the relevant matters. Finally, Nayman further supported her basis of knowledge by asserting that she also relied on her review of her company’s documents. Second, Burnett argues, citing the district court’s order, that Nayman did not describe Synchrony’s mailing procedure. That argument misses the point. Though describing a company’s mailing procedure is one way to trigger the mailbox presumption, it is not the only way. An equally effective way is to submit evidence showing that the Burnett Card Agreement was placed in the mail. Nayman’s declaration did just that. For those reasons, the defendants’ evidence was sufficient to trigger the mailbox rule’s presumption that Burnett received the Burnett Card Agreement, including the arbitration agreement contained within it. Burnett has not submitted any evidence of her own rebutting that presumption and does not otherwise argue that the defendants have failed in satisfying their burden with respect to any of Utah Code § 25-5-4(2)(e)’s other requirements. So the defendants met their burden to show an enforceable arbitration agreement exists. For that reason, we must conclude that the district court incorrectly denied the defendants’ motion to compel Burnett to arbitrate her disputes. 20 Case: 18-14019 Date Filed: 05/13/2020 Page: 21 of 21