Law360, New York (October 27, 2009) -- A recent court order in the case Hines v. Overstock.com Inc., 2009 WL 2876667 (E.D.N.Y. 2009), addresses a question Internet users have debated for years: are Web site terms and conditions of service enforceable absent explicit assent to them by a user of the Web site? The answer, of course, is that it depends.
In Hines, the plaintiff, Cynthia Hines, purchased a vacuum cleaner through Overstock’s Web site. During the online purchasing process, Hines never checked a box or otherwise acknowledged the terms and...
