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A 2022 lawsuit accused PayPal of freezing users’ accounts and taking funds, but no court ruled that PayPal stole money. The district court sent the dispute to arbitration and dismissed the case without prejudice; the Ninth Circuit affirmed that procedural decision in 2023. The reviewed court records do not establish what happened in arbitration.
What did the PayPal lawsuit allege?
The case, Evans et al. v. PayPal, Inc., was filed on January 13, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs Lena Evans, Roni Shemtov, and Shbadan Akylbekov alleged that PayPal froze accounts and seized funds after purported violations of its policies. Those claims come from the plaintiffs’ complaint, not findings by a judge.
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The complaint described a proposed class of PayPal users whose funds were allegedly seized based on breaches of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy. It asserted claims including conversion, federal RICO, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, California unfair competition, unjust enrichment, declaratory relief, and accounting. The complaint argued that PayPal’s user agreement and acceptable use policy could not be used as a “license to steal”—the plaintiffs’ characterization, not a court’s conclusion.
How much money did the plaintiffs say PayPal seized?
The complaint alleged the following amounts. None was established as a judicial finding in the rulings described here.
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| Plaintiff | Amount alleged | What the complaint said |
|---|---|---|
| Lena Evans | $26,984 | She alleged PayPal seized this amount in May 2021 after she learned her account was frozen in November 2020. |
| Roni Shemtov | $42,737 total | She alleged seizures of $10,000 in 2017 and $32,351.87 in 2019. |
| Shbadan Akylbekov | $172,206.43 | He alleged PayPal seized this amount from his accounts. |
Did the lawsuit win, or did a court find PayPal stole money?
No merits ruling in the reviewed records found that PayPal unlawfully took the plaintiffs’ funds. On June 2, 2022, the district court granted PayPal’s motion to compel arbitration and dismissed the action without prejudice to a later action to confirm or vacate an arbitration award. That disposition addressed where the dispute would proceed, not whether the alleged seizures were lawful.
On September 18, 2023, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order. The appellate decision likewise did not establish that the plaintiffs’ allegations were proven. An affirmance of the arbitration ruling is not a judgment that PayPal committed theft.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
What is known about the arbitration outcome?
The court records reviewed for this account do not establish whether arbitration produced an award or whether a later court confirmed or vacated one. They also do not establish a settlement, a recovery for the plaintiffs, class certification, or a merits judgment. Accordingly, the case’s known procedural history should not be presented as proof that the plaintiffs won—or that PayPal was cleared on the underlying allegations.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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