A federal judge in California has ordered that a proposed class action lawsuit against the operators of the wellness app Balance: Meditation & Sleep proceed through arbitration, affirming that the user leading the suit must arbitrate claims regarding the alleged unlawful sharing of video-viewing and personal data.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila granted a motion filed by Elevate Labs LLC and MindSnacks Inc., the joint owners and operators of the Balance app, to compel arbitration of plaintiff Jonathan Kroskey’s claims. Kroskey alleges that the companies violated the Video Privacy Protection Act and California’s Invasion of Privacy Act by allowing unauthorized access to users’ data by a third-party platform, Braze Inc.
Judge Davila found that Kroskey had agreed to binding arbitration when he purchased a subscription in July 2023 and accepted the app’s terms of service. The terms included a clear arbitration clause specifying that, unless users opted out within 30 days, disputes must be resolved individually through arbitration, not class action lawsuits.
The Court held the arbitration agreement to be a valid and enforceable contract, emphasizing that the app’s sign-up process provided “reasonably conspicuous” notice of the terms and that Kroskey had manifested his assent by creating an account. The presentation of the terms of service on the app’s sign-up page was noted to be clear, uncluttered, and easy to locate, with hyperlinks prominently displayed.
Judge Davila also rejected arguments limiting the arbitration agreement to Elevate Labs alone, confirming that MindSnacks, as an affiliate, may enforce the arbitration clause given the identical claims against both companies.
The case, Kroskey v. Elevate Labs LLC et al., case number 5:24-cv-0811, is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
