23andMe’s Wrap Contracts

H/T to Eric Goldman for sharing with the list a new case from Judge Lucy Koh of the federal district court of Northern California.  Tompkins v. 23andMe provides a detailed analysis of 23andMe’s wrap contracts.  The case involves the same Terms of Service presented as a hyperlink at the bottom of the website’s pages, and then later, post-purchase and at the time of account creation, as a hyperlink that requires a “click” in order to proceed (which I refer to as a “multi-wrap” as it’s neither browsewrap nor clickwrap but a little of both).  The court says the former presentation lacks notice, but the latter constitutes adequate formation.  Eric Goldman provides a detailed analysis of the case here.  

Not surprisingly, the Terms contained a unilateral modification clause which was briefly discussed in the context of substantive  unconscionability.  It was not, however, raised as a defense to formation, i.e. to argue that the promises made by 23andme were illusory.