After discussing what mass arbitration is and its growing use for claims against companies in the consumer finance industry, we discuss the factors that make companies most vulnerable to mass arbitration claims. We then...more
Recently, 37 Senators (36 Democrats, one Independent) and 84 members of the House of Representatives (all Democrats), led by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia, reintroduced the...more
In a recent blog post, Professor Jeff Sovern contends that the case against consumer arbitration has been bolstered by the fact that a lawyer for the “conservative” Competitive Enterprise Institute made positive remarks about...more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s recent publication of an 80-page report titled “Mass Arbitration Shakedown: Coercing Unjustified Settlements” has fanned the flames on an already heated debate between consumer advocates and...more
In 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group, L.P. that in order to be enforceable, arbitration clauses must contain an express waiver of the parties’ right to seek relief in a court of...more
Last week, the Biden Administration released a “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights” (Blueprint), which sets forth five principles intended to “create a shared baseline for fairness for renters in the housing market” and...more
The CFPB has issued a proposed rule to establish a system for the registration of nonbanks subject to CFPB supervision that use “certain terms or conditions that seek to waive consumer rights or other legal protections or...more
Last week, a California federal court granted Google’s motion to compel arbitration of claims asserted by customers who alleged that their Fitbit watches burned their skin. The opinion in Houtchens v. Google found that the...more
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review whether an appeal of the denial of a motion to compel arbitration automatically stays proceedings in the lower court pending the outcome of the appeal, or whether the lower...more
Earlier this week, we wrote about Verizon’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit from a district court ruling that the bellwether provision in its arbitration clause was unconscionable. Both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the...more
An appeal pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is poised to decide whether an arbitration agreement that requires mass arbitration disputes to be resolved by multiple rounds of bellwether arbitrations...more
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced final regulations, effective July 1, 2023, designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act. Among other...more
A recent Law360 article notes that “a growing number of state court rulings” have invalidated arbitration agreements in online contracts. As an example of this “trending pushback” by state courts, the article discusses...more
We recently wrote about a Law 360 report indicating that the CFPB appears unlikely, at least in the near future, to undertake new rulemaking that would regulate the use of consumer arbitration agreements. The report was...more
According to a report appearing in today’s Law360, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra has indicated that the agency appears unlikely, at least in the near future, to undertake new rulemaking that would regulate the use of consumer...more
Recently, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Zirpoli v. Midland Funding, LLC that an arbitrator, not the district court, must decide whether class action claims brought against Midland...more
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced proposed regulations designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act. Among other things, the proposed...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has once again confirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts incompatible state laws that preclude contracting parties from controlling which claims are subject to arbitration. Ruling in...more
6/20/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
For the second time in two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a company seeking to compel individual arbitration of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action claims. In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court today held that waiver of the right to arbitrate does not require a showing that the other party was prejudiced. The unanimous opinion by Justice Kagan in Morgan v. Sundance reversed the Eighth...more
Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reexamined when use of a website can bind a consumer to hyperlinked “terms and conditions” containing an arbitration provision that the consumer never saw or read. Affirming the...more
Ruling on an important Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) procedural issue that has divided the circuit courts, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided that the “look-through” approach often used in determining whether federal...more
A recent blog by Professor Jeff Sovern, occasioned by the recent Senate hearing on consumer arbitration clauses, recycles two of his favorite talking points: (1) consumers don’t understand arbitration clauses, and (2)...more
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
The U.S. House of Representatives has fired another salvo against class and collective action waivers in employment agreements. The recently passed Build Back Better Act (BBB Act) would amend the National Labor Relations Act...more