A federal judge in North Carolina sided with a home furniture store Monday, finding a consumer had constructive notice of an arbitration provision and class-action waiver that was printed on a double-sided contract.

On Monday, District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina dismissed claims brought by Gary Surgeon that accused Farmers Home Furniture of state debt collection and deceptive trade violations for charging a $4 "pay-to-pay" fee on his monthly installment payments. The defendant pointed to its arbitration provision in four contracts signed by Surgeon. The plaintiff argued that the provision was invalid, because he did not see the arbitration clause on the back of the double-sided contracts, and he disputed whether it was even included.