The Seventh Circuit has recently upheld litigants’ rights to pursue their claims in court rather than in forced arbitration in two cases: Druco Restaurants, Inc. v. Steak ‘n Shake Enterprises, Inc. et al., No. 13-3489, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16869 (7th Cir. Aug. 29,...
If you ask a company representative if they think arbitration clauses are harmful to consumers, more than likely, they will say no. If you ask the average consumer if they think arbitration clauses are harmful to consumers, they will ask you what is an arbitration...
In Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Crockett, Case No. 12-3574, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck yet another blow to consumers whose contracts of adhesion force arbitration of any disputes. Prior to Crockett, in some cases, arbitrators were...
In December, 2011, in a per curiam opinion, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling confirming an arbitration award which certified a nationwide class of claimants alleging unfair and deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Maryland Consumer...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) opened its doors less than a year ago. Even though the federal agency was created in July, it announced last week that it would be taking on a major issue: mandatory arbitration clauses and the companies that enforce...
Earlier this year, I wrote about the online storage company Dropbox adding arbitration clauses to its customer service agreement. It seems Dropbox is in very good company on the Internet these days. According to New York Times blog “The Upshot,” one-third of top...
The Seventh Circuit’s recent opinion in Lewis v. Epic Systems Corp.[1] is one of the most important recent decisions regarding class action waivers and employment arbitration. But the story may still be unfolding. The Lewis case arose when a company (Epic) tried to...
It is difficult to be a consumer these days without being subjected to arbitration agreements. Most banks, cell phone companies, cable providers and major corporations include an arbitration agreement in their terms of service. Dropbox is one of the more recent...
Mandatory arbitration is usually criticized, or defended, from the perspective of the parties involved in the dispute itself but an interesting point has been raised by a recent New York Timesarticle covering Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit against Roger Ailes of Fox...
Without question, the #MeToo movement has been one of the most impactful and important social campaigns in recent memory. It’s given victims of sexual abuse and harassment a platform to name their accusers and hold powerful individuals accountable for their...
Consumer rights are on the line as the Supreme Court decides to take up mandatory binding arbitration clauses once again. Last time, in 2011’s AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion decision, the Supreme Court held that corporations can effectively ban class actions—both in...
Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed rulemaking that would prohibit banks and certain other companies from including arbitration clauses in new contracts that prevent consumers of financial services from filing or taking part in class...