If you have a dispute with Public.com, you must resolve it through private arbitration rather than suing in court, and you cannot join a class action lawsuit with other users against the company.
This analysis describes what Public.com's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This clause removes your ability to take Public to court or join with other affected users in a collective lawsuit, which is often the most practical way to pursue smaller individual claims like unauthorized fees or account errors.
Interpretive note: Enforceability of the class action waiver may vary by jurisdiction, particularly in California, and FINRA arbitration rules may create a parallel framework for securities-related claims that modifies how this clause applies in practice.
Users who experience financial harm, unauthorized charges, or account errors cannot join class action lawsuits and must pursue individual arbitration, which can be more costly and time-consuming for smaller claims.
How other platforms handle this
YOU AND UNITY AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE, CLAIM OR CONTROVERSY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE BREACH, TERMINATION, ENFORCEMENT, INTERPRETATION OR VALIDITY THEREOF OR THE USE OF THE SERVICES (COLLECTIVELY, "DISPUTES") WILL BE SETTLED BY BINDING ARBITRATION, EXCEPT THAT EACH PARTY RETAIN...
Any Dispute will be determined in English by final, binding arbitration according to the region-specific processes below. Judgment on any award issued through the arbitration process in this Section J.2 (Arbitration) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. EACH PARTY AGREES THEY ARE WAIVING...
You and Stripe agree to resolve any disputes, controversies, or claims arising out of or relating to this agreement or the Services through binding individual arbitration instead of in court, except that either party may bring claims in small claims court if they qualify. There will be no right or a...
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"You and Public agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or the use of the Services (collectively, 'Disputes') will be settled by binding arbitration, except that each party retains the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party's copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU AND PUBLIC ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.— Excerpt from Public.com's Public.com Terms of Service
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Pre-dispute arbitration clauses in broker-dealer customer agreements are subject to FINRA Rule 13200, which requires that disputes arising in connection with a customer's business with a FINRA member be arbitrated under FINRA's Code of Arbitration Procedure. The enforceability of class action waivers in consumer financial services contexts may require evaluation under the CFPB's rulemaking authority and applicable state law, particularly in California where public policy challenges to class waivers have historical precedent, and in New York. The provision should be evaluated against the Federal Arbitration Act, which generally supports arbitration agreements but is subject to state-law unconscionability defenses. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The combination of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration and a class action waiver in a retail investment platform creates significant governance exposure because it limits aggregated consumer liability for the company while constraining users' most practical legal remedy for systemic issues such as platform-wide fee errors or data breaches. FINRA's arbitration forum rules may govern claims arising from securities activities, potentially creating a dual-track arbitration framework depending on which Public entity and product type is implicated. JURISDICTION FLAGS: California courts have historically scrutinized class action waivers in consumer contracts under unconscionability doctrine, though the Federal Arbitration Act preemption question remains active. EU and UK users, if any access the platform, may have additional statutory dispute rights that override contractual arbitration clauses under applicable consumer protection law. FINRA arbitration jurisdiction for broker-dealer claims creates a separate overlay from the general commercial arbitration clause. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: B2B and API partners who are also subject to these terms should assess whether the arbitration clause applies to commercial disputes and whether their own customer-facing agreements create downstream exposure. Procurement teams should note that indemnification and liability cap provisions interact with the arbitration clause to define the practical ceiling of recoverable damages. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should confirm whether the arbitration clause satisfies FINRA's pre-dispute arbitration agreement requirements, including whether required FINRA disclosures are included. The opt-out mechanism, if present, should be audited for deadline clarity, notice adequacy, and documentation of user opt-outs. Legal counsel should assess whether the class waiver is enforceable in key user jurisdictions, particularly California and any states with specific consumer arbitration statutes.
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This clause removes your ability to take Public to court or join with other affected users in a collective lawsuit, which is often the most practical way to pursue smaller individual claims like unauthorized fees or account errors.
Users who experience financial harm, unauthorized charges, or account errors cannot join class action lawsuits and must pursue individual arbitration, which can be more costly and time-consuming for smaller claims.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 113 platforms. See the full comparison.
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