On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc. to decide a question that has divided the federal circuit courts and state supreme courts: “whether a provision...more
6/18/2020
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Certiorari ,
Contract Terms ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
Judicial Review ,
Motion to Compel ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Wholly Groundless Doctrine
Briefing is now complete on the petitions for certiorari in the Blair v. Rent-A-Center appeals that could produce the next blockbuster U.S. Supreme Court arbitration decision. At issue is whether the Federal Arbitration Act...more
On March 26, the American Bankers Association and the Consumer Bankers Association, represented by Ballard Spahr, filed an amicus brief in support of petitions for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review the Ninth...more
On January 17, 2020, the Ninth Circuit denied the defendants’ petitions for panel and en banc rehearing in the Blair v. Rent a Center appeals, setting the stage for possible U.S. Supreme Court review of the California Supreme...more
1/21/2020
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
En Banc Review ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Preemption ,
Public Policy ,
The McGill Rule
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
The California Chamber of Commerce is encouraging its members to send letters to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to veto California SB 707, which was passed by the state’s Assembly and Senate and is currently...more
10/2/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Data Breach ,
Employment Contract ,
Governor Newsom ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
State and Local Government
This past Friday, by a vote of 225-186, the House passed H.R. 1423, the “Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act.” A Senate companion bill (S. 610) was introduced in February 2019 and referred to the Senate Judiciary...more
9/23/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017 (FAIR Act) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FRCP 23 ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Presidential Veto ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Service Contracts
Last week, by a vote of 22-14 (with one Republican voting for the bill), the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 1423, the “Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act.” A Senate companion bill (S. 610) was introduced in...more
Last week, we published a Legal Alert discussing the petitions for rehearing filed in the Blair v. Rent-A-Center appeals which ask the Ninth Circuit en banc to overturn a panel decision holding that the Federal Arbitration...more
This alert follows on our previous report about the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Blair v. Rent-A-Center, Inc. and two companion cases holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt the California Supreme...more
Earlier this year, we reported on the pendency of several Ninth Circuit appeals concerning the enforceability of consumer arbitration agreements with respect to claims for “public” injunctive relief. On June 28, 2019, in...more
Last week, the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court's grant of a motion to compel individual arbitration in a case that "tests the outer limits of what constitutes a 'reasonably conspicuous' provision" in an online...more
In yet another example of the strong federal policy favoring arbitration embodied in the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), U.S. District Court Judge Joel Slomsky of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted employer FC...more
In an important ruling that further narrows the circumstances in which class arbitration will be permitted, the Supreme Court today held that under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)...more
Last Tuesday, I had the great privilege of testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee at its “Arbitration in America” hearing. ...more
Democratic lawmakers have introduced several new bills to prohibit the use of mandatory arbitration provisions, ranging from bills that broadly target consumer transactions to bills that target schools that receive Title IV...more
3/5/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Borrower Defense Rule ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Higher Education Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Title IV
Relying on the California Supreme Court's 2017 decision in McGill v. Citibank, class action plaintiffs increasingly have sought to circumvent class action waivers in arbitration agreements by filing lawsuits in California. ...more
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
Deciding an important gateway arbitration issue that has divided the circuits, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires courts to enforce arbitration agreements that delegate questions...more
1/10/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Contract Terms ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
Judicial Review ,
Motion to Compel ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Wholly Groundless Doctrine
While the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has often found that state limitations on arbitration agreements are not in conflict with the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), a recent ruling there confirms that...more
According to a forthcoming article by Professors Andrea Chandrasekher and David Horton in the California Law Review, more consumers and their lawyers would take advantage of individual arbitration if states enacted...more
Having lost the battle to prohibit class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements, consumer advocates have embarked on a new crusade....more
8/30/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Bylaws ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Corporate Charters ,
Corporate Governance ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Preemption ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation
Having lost the battle to prohibit class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements, consumer advocates have embarked on a new crusade....more
8/29/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Bylaws ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Corporate Charters ,
Corporate Governance ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Preemption ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation
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