Carr v. Gateway Inc.

State: Illinois

Docket No: 109485 Rel

Case Date: 02/03/2011

Preview:Docket No. 109485.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

WILLIAM CARR, Indiv. and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Appellee, v. GATEWAY, INC., Appellant. Opinion filed February 3, 2011.

JUSTICE GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Kilbride and Justices Freeman, Thomas, Karmeier, Burke, and Theis concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION In 2001, plaintiff, William Carr, and his wife purchased a computer from defendant, Gateway, Inc. Carr subsequently filed suit alleging misrepresentation by Gateway as to the speed of the computer's processor. Gateway sought to dismiss the suit and compel arbitration in accordance with the terms of the sales contract. The circuit court of Madison County denied the motion, holding, inter alia, that there was no valid arbitration agreement between the parties. Gateway appealed under Rule 307(a)(1) (Ill. S. Ct. R. 307(a)(1) (eff. Mar. 20, 2009)). While the case was on appeal, the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), the arbitral forum designated in the arbitration agreement, stopped accepting consumer arbitrations. Thereafter, the appellate court affirmed the circuit court on the basis that the arbitration

agreement failed due to the unavailability of the arbitral forum. 395 Ill. App. 3d 1079. We allowed Gateway's petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S. Ct. R. 315 (eff. Feb. 26, 2010). The present appeal concerns whether section 5 of the Federal Arbitration Act (Arbitration Act or Act) (9 U.S.C.

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