What a motion to compel actually asks
A motion to compel arbitration asks a court to send the dispute to the forum the contract names and, usually, to pause the lawsuit in the meantime. Federal law and New York law both strongly favor enforcing arbitration agreements, but the court still has to be satisfied that an agreement was formed and that it covers this dispute. Online agreements raise their own questions about whether the terms were actually presented and accepted. Many clauses also hand the question of scope to the arbitrator, which changes what a judge will decide. Some disputes are carved out by statute; for example, federal law lets a person bringing sexual harassment or sexual assault claims choose court despite a pre-dispute clause.
Records that tend to matter
Collect the version of the contract or terms that was in effect when the relationship began, along with any later versions and the notices that announced changes. For online agreements, the screens a user saw, the click or signature records, and the date of acceptance can be central. Keep any correspondence where either side discussed arbitration or chose to litigate instead. A party that pursues the case in court for a while can sometimes be found to have given up the right to arbitrate, so the history of what each side did matters. If you are the one hoping to stay in court, do not assume a clause is unenforceable just because it seems unfair.
Deciding the direction early
In a first conversation we read the clause itself: who administers the arbitration, who pays the fees, where it happens, and whether there is a class waiver. We talk about whether arbitration actually serves you, since cost, speed, privacy, and appeal rights all shift. If you were sued, we look at whether moving to compel should come before an answer, because some steps in litigation can be argued later as a waiver. If you are the one opposing arbitration, we look at formation and scope rather than general fairness. Either way, the timing of the first filing usually matters.
