sweisman

My apologies.

It's all factually incorrect. The only lawsuit filed was by Patreon, because it was upset that it had to abide by the terms and conditions of its contract of adhesion.

"The comedian instructed his fans to file suits against Patreon..."

"Suits" here refer to claims submitted to arbitration, specfically JAMS.

The ToS say you waive your right to a jury trial or participating in a class action. Both are wrong. By stating those conditions, Patreon is guilty of deceptive practices. Which is illegal. All Patreon users can file a demand for arbitration now, regardless of whether or not someone they backed was deplatformed.

There were originally about 100 backers, plus the creator himself, filing claims.

Since then, I believe at least another hundred have decided to join the fun.

Patreon Delenda Est.

Patreon is on the hook for all arbitration costs, minus $250 that the aggrieved consumer must pay as a filing fee.

The risk is because Patreon's liability is open-ended. Each arbitration is a MINIMUM of $10K, and escalates from there, depending on the number and nature of claims.

If the claimants are not motivated by money, and they are not, they can push each arbitration to a full hearing and decision, rather than accept a settlement offer. Since they violated their own ToS by suing in court and doing so in a class action (two separate violations), they are in serious peril.

If they do that, Patreon could easily end up paying $100K per user.

Finally, ANY Patreon user can file a claim because of how badly they've botched the multiple revisions to the ToS since then.