We previously wrote about a Ninth Circuit appeal taken by Verizon Wireless, Inc. after a California district court judge held that its arbitration agreement, which required mass arbitration disputes to be resolved by multiple...more
Earlier last week, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would prohibit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts in favor of arbitration clauses...more
9/18/2023
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Statutory Authority
The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing employers from requiring workers to arbitrate sexual harassment and assault claims. The bill will now go to President Biden for his expected signature. Known as...more
Consumer advocates often contend that Congress should prohibit arbitration agreements with class action waivers because servicemembers and other consumers need class actions to effectuate their statutory rights. However, a...more
A group of small businesses and their individual owners have filed a putative class action lawsuit in a New York federal district court against online lender Kabbage, Inc. that alleges Kabbage engaged in a “rent-a-charter”...more
10/10/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Commercial Loans ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Contract Terms ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Loan Agreements ,
Loans ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Putative Class Actions ,
RICO ,
Small Business ,
Statutory Violations ,
UDAP ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Usury
According to a report issued earlier this month, the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission is considering the adoption of the “Model State Consumer and Employee Justice Enforcement Act” developed several years ago...more
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis was extended by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last week in Gaffers v. Kelly Services, Inc. ...more
Ruling in a class action brought against Uber Technologies, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that the company's arbitration clause could not be enforced because it was not "reasonably...more
7/3/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Click-Through Nexus ,
Conspicuous Publication Rule ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Online Contracts ,
Terms of Service ,
Uber
Addressing an important contract-formation issue that has divided federal courts, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania recently denied a company's motion to compel arbitration because the consumer...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in three cases—NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, and Ernst & Young, et al. v. Morris—to resolve whether arbitration provisions in employment agreements...more
Employers should take note of a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in a case involving the arbitration clause in an independent contractor agreement....more
Adding more complexity to the issue of arbitration contract formation, the Ninth Circuit has rejected Samsung's attempt to compel individual arbitration of fraud claims asserted by plaintiffs in two class actions. Ruling in...more
1/25/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Cell Phones ,
Class Action ,
Consent ,
Contract Terms ,
Fraud ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Mobile Devices ,
Motion to Compel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Samsung ,
Smartphones ,
Warranties ,
Wireless Devices ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced this week that it agrees with the National Labor Relations Board that individual arbitration waiver agreements, which prevent employees from filing or participating in...more
8/26/2016
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Ernst & Young ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7
The American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and The Financial Services Roundtable (Associations) have filed a joint letter commenting on the CFPB’s proposed rule regulating consumer arbitration...more
8/23/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Service Contracts
A divided California Supreme Court has held that an arbitrator, rather than a court, should determine whether an arbitration clause in an employment agreement allows employees to bring their claims in arbitration on a...more
A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal is a “must read” for those who will be affected if the CFPB’s May 5, 2016 proposed rule banning class action waivers in consumer financial services arbitration agreements becomes...more
5/23/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Service Contracts ,
Wall Street Journal
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering proposing rules that would prohibit consumer financial services companies from using class action waivers in consumer arbitration clauses, the CFPB announced...more
10/8/2015
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Class Certification ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
SCOTUS ,
Small Business
A mandatory arbitration provision is enforceable even when not contained within the four corners of a retail installment sales contract between a consumer and an automobile dealer, Maryland's highest court has ruled....more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced its decision to retain a ban on mandatory arbitration provisions in warranty claims made under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA). The FTC’s decision was announced in...more
On Thursday, July 31, 2014, President Obama signed an Executive Order called "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces," requiring covered federal contractors and subcontractors to publicly report labor violations, to forgo the use of...more
8/6/2014
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Barack Obama ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
OSHA ,
Subcontractors ,
Title VII
The American Arbitration Association (AAA) announced yesterday that beginning September 1, 2014, it will implement and maintain a publicly available Consumer Clause Registry. This will affect any company that designates the...more
Can an employer compel arbitration in accordance with an arbitration clause in a contract that has terminated? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently answered this question in the affirmative....more
The CFPB is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a national telephone survey of 1,000 credit card holders as part of its study of the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in connection with...more
The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ban on mandatory arbitration provisions in certain mortgage loans becomes effective on June 1, 2013. Lenders now using mortgage loan documentation containing such provisions should take steps...more