Provision in SiriusXM Arbitration Agreement Violates Calif. Law, Say Plaintiffs

The three plaintiffs in the first of several class actions that accuse SiriusXM of a false advertising scheme want the U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco to deny SiriusXM’s July 24 motion to compel their claims to arbitration (see 2307250031), said their opposition Tuesday (docket 3:23-cv-02367). The plaintiffs allege SiriusXM falsely advertises its music plans at lower prices than it actually charges. They’re challenging the enforceability of SiriusXM’s arbitration agreement on the grounds that one of the agreement's provisions, called the “class action waiver,” contains two clauses that violate California public policy, said their opposition. Those clauses amount to “an unlawful waiver of the right to pursue class litigation in court and an unlawful waiver of the right to pursue public injunctive relief in arbitration,” it said. If the court concludes that one or both of these provisions are unenforceable as written, “then the agreement’s poison pill requires that the entire arbitration agreement be deemed null and void,” it said. That’s exactly what the plaintiffs are asking the court to do, it said.