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
The Pew Charitable Trusts has released an issue brief, “Consumers Want the Right to Resolve Bank Disputes in Court,” in which it urges the CFPB to “expeditiously finalize” its proposed arbitration rule. The CFPB’s proposal...more
8/19/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Pew Foundation
A total of 102 Democratic lawmakers, consisting of 37 Democratic Senators joined by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and 65 House members, have signed on to letters sent to Director Cordray expressing support for the CFPB’s...more
8/5/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
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
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a proposed rule that includes a ban on mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements by schools receiving Title IV assistance under the Higher Education Act (HEA) and a new federal...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously held that an independent contractor to the Ohio Attorney General did not mislead consumers in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when it used the Attorney...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
In a long-anticipated and significant decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 6-2 that a plaintiff alleging a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) does not have standing under Article III of the U.S....more
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced at a field hearing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that it is proposing regulations that would prohibit covered providers of certain consumer financial products...more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness has sent a letter to Director Cordray suggesting a series of issues for Mr. Cordray to address in his prepared remarks at the CFPB’s field hearing on...more
The CFPB has announced that it will hold a field hearing in Albuquerque, New Mexico about arbitration on May 5, 2016. We expect the field hearing to coincide with the release of the CFPB’s proposed rule on the use of...more
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Campbell-Ewald Company v. Gomez that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer of complete relief does not moot a plaintiff's individual claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third...more
4/8/2016
/ Article III ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk ,
Mootness ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Offer ,
Standing ,
TCPA
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an unaccepted Rule 68 settlement offer does not moot a class action even when the offer would provide the named plaintiff with complete individual relief. The decision in Campbell-Ewald...more
Two recent decisions provide support for the use of tribal sovereign immunity by tribally affiliated payday lenders as a defense to both state administrative proceedings and private class actions. In Everette v. Joshua...more
An article on consumer arbitration in this week’s Sunday New York Times concludes that “[b]y inserting individual arbitration clauses into a soaring number of consumer and employment contracts, companies… devised a way to...more
11/3/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Institutions ,
New York Times
In his remarks today to the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board, Director Cordray denigrated arbitration agreements as a “free pass” that allows companies to “sidestep the legal system, avoid big refunds, and continue to pursue...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez on October 14, 2015, an important case presenting the question of whether a defendant can defeat a class action by offering complete individual relief...more
10/23/2015
/ Article III ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FRCP 23 ,
Genesis HealthCare ,
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk ,
Mootness ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Statutory Damages ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA
In a blog post earlier this week, Professor Jeff Sovern took issue with statements made by a legal expert that suggest an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act would be necessary for the CFPB to ban class action waivers in...more
Today, the CFPB announced at a field hearing in Denver, Colorado that it is considering proposing rules that would prohibit consumer financial services companies from using class action waivers in consumer arbitration...more
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
Recently, Professor Jeff Sovern sent an email to the editor of the Consumer Financial Services Law Report commenting on an article we published in the August 9, 2015 issue of the Report titled, “CFPB Makes Consumer...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued citations to two companies charged with violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) consent requirements for autodialed or prerecorded calls to wireless...more
9/21/2015
/ Apple Pay ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cell Phones ,
Class Action ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FCC ,
Online Banking ,
Opt-Outs ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Right to Privacy ,
Robocalling ,
Smartphones ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing
A new type of Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) class action is now being filed in volume. This trend is highly likely to continue, as the cases are being filed by a consumer class action firm that has filed hundreds of...more
In a recent blog post, Professor Jeff Sovern responded to our blog post indicating that the CFPB’s March 10, 2014 Arbitration Study strongly supports the industry’s view that consumers fare better in arbitration than...more
The California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Company, LLC, on August 3, 2015, reversing a finding by the Court of Appeal that an arbitration provision was unconscionable...more
8/12/2015
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Best Practices ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
CLRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Putative Class Actions ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts