Citations
- 189 F. Supp. 3d 486
Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM
Diamond, District Judge.
This putative class action concerns the availability of a five-cent per gallon discount on fuel purchases made with a Suno-co Rewards Credit Card. Plaintiff Donald White proceeds against Defendant Sunoco, alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. (Doc. No. 1, Compl.) Sunoco has filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Litigation, relying on the underlying Cardholder Agreement that purportedly requires Plaintiff to arbitrate any claims relating to his Sunoco Rewards Credit Card account. (Doc. No. 19); 9 U.S.C. § 3.1 conclude that the Agreement (and its arbitration clause) governs only Plaintiffs relationship with Citibank, the card issuer. Accordingly, I will deny Defendant’s Motion.
I. Procedural Background
In response to Plaintiffs class action Complaint (Doc. No. 1), Defendant filed the instant Motion. (Doc. Nos. 11, 19.) After the matter was fully briefed, I denied the Motion without prejudice and ordered the Parties to take discovery with respect to the Cardholder Agreement’s en.forceability. (Doc. Nos. 14, 15, 17, 18.) Upon completion of that limited discovery, Sunoco renewed the instant Motion. (Doc. No. 19.) The matter has again been fully briefed. (Doc. Nos. 20, 23, 24, 25.)
II. Factual Background
I have considered the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiff and made all reasonable inferences in his favor. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56; Guidotti v. Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, L.L.C., 716 F.3d 764, 776 (3d Cir.2013) (“After limited discovery, the court may entertain a renewed motion to compel arbitration, this time judging the motion under a summary judgment standard.”).
a. The Sunoco Rewards Program
Sunoco is a Pennsylvania corporation marketing and selling gasoline through approximately 4,900 retail outlets in twenty-six states. (Doc. No. 1, Compl. ¶¶5-6.) Plaintiff attaches to his Complaint examples of the advertising pamphlets and application materials that Sunoco published and distributed to encourage enrollment in its Rewards Program. (Id. Exs. A, B, C; see also Doc. No. 20, Ex. 9.) According to these materials, the Program offers customers who buy gas with the Sunoco Rewards Credit Card either a five-cent per gallon price reduction at the pump or a corresponding credit on their monthly card billing statements. (Id. ¶¶ 8-13 & Exs. Á, B, C.) Although not stated in the promotional materials, discovery has revealed that some Sunoco stations will not provide the discount “because they are independently owned and operated.” (Doc. No. 20, Ex. 1 at 7.)
b. The Rewards Card
Citibank is the issuer of the Rewards Card. (Doc. No. 1, Exs. A, C (“Citibank, N.A_is the issuer of your Sunoco® Rewards Card Account.”).) Application materials for'the Rewards Card state that Citibank will share information with Sunoco respecting the applicant’s account. (Id. (‘You authorize us to share with Sunoco® and its affiliates experiential and transactional information regarding your activity with us.”). Sunoco alone is responsible for ensuring the discount is properly applied. (Id. ¶20 (“[Cjustomer service confirmed that Sunoco is responsible for ensuring that-the 5