Commerce & Industry Ins. Co. v. Bayer Corp.

Malden Mills sent Bayer (defendant) a purchase order with an arbitration clause; Bayer's responding invoice was silent on arbitration and expressly conditioned Malden Mills's acceptance on assent to Bayer's own additional or conflicting terms. After a fire allegedly caused by Bayer's nylon tow destroyed a Malden Mills building, its insurer, Commerce & Industry (plaintiff), sued Bayer, which argued Malden Mills's arbitration clause governed the dispute; the trial court held the arbitration provision unenforceable.