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GULFPORT, Fla. - A federal judge Monday agreed with the Grindr, LLC, that a lawsuit over the high-profile murder of a Pinellas County teen after she met a man on the dating app should go to arbitration.
U.S. District Judge Tom Barber issued a 12-page ruling that said Miranda Corsette, in creating a Grindr account, had agreed to terms and conditions that included arbitration of legal disputes.
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Pictured: Miranda Corsette. Courtesy: Gulfport Police Department.
"In this case, defendant (Grindr) has presented evidence of a presumptively valid arbitration agreement electronically signed by Corsette when she created her Grindr account," Barber wrote. "The agreement broadly covers any dispute, claim, or controversy between Corsette and defendant, and Corsette agreed to resolve disputes through arbitration."
The backstory:
The 16-year-old girl was murdered in February after meeting a man, Steven Gress, on the app, according to Barber’s ruling. Gress invited the teen to his home in St. Petersburg and introduced her to his domestic partner, Michelle Brandes.
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"Allegedly, the three got into a dispute, and as a result, Gress and Brandes severely beat Corsette," the judge wrote. "The beating was extreme, torturous, and continued for several days. On or about February 24, 2025, Corsette was killed when a pool ball wrapped in a sock was shoved into her mouth, and then her head and face were wrapped in Saran Wrap, obstructing Corsette’s airways and suffocating her. Following her death, Gress transported Corsette’s body to another location before he dismembered Corsette’s body with a chainsaw. He then disposed of the remains in a dumpster in Ruskin, Florida, which was eventually taken to an incinerator."
Pictured: Steve Gress and Michelle Brandes. Courtesy: Pinellas County Jail.
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Gress and Brandes have been charged with first-degree murder, and trials are pending, Barber wrote.
The teen’s estate filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Grindr, seeking to hold it responsible in the murder. But Grindr argued the dispute should go to arbitration, rather than to a trial in court.
"Corsette agreed to Grindr’s terms of service — which include a clearly identified arbitration provision — each of the three times she created a Grindr account," Grindr attorneys wrote in an Aug. 13 motion to compel arbitration.
Courtesy: Gulfport Police Department
The other side:
But the estate’s attorneys objected to arbitration, raising a series of arguments including that the victim was a minor.
"No enforceable contract exists between Grindr and 16-year-old Miranda Corsette because Grindr's terms expressly excluded minors, precluding offer, mutual assent, and satisfaction of the adulthood condition precedent. … Under Florida law, contract formation requires offer, acceptance, consideration, and mutual assent," the estate’s attorneys wrote in a Sept. 8 document.
What they're saying:
But Barber rejected that argument and others, including that the arbitration provision of the terms and conditions was "unconscionable."
In part, he wrote that "it is important to recognize that Corsette created at least three Grindr accounts. Thus, she had the opportunity to review the arbitration agreement at least three times. A failure to comprehend or negotiate arbitration, or unequal bargaining power, does not justify a repeated refusal to read an agreement and should not negate the enforceability of an arbitration agreement."
The Source: This article was written based on information in a 12-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Tom Barber, information gathered by the News Service of Florida and previous FOX 13 News reports.