Earlier this month, the CFPB issued a report titled Strengthening State-Level Consumer Protection. The report argues, among other things, that states should “[r]evitalize private enforcement” by promulgating additional UDAAP...more
We are very pleased to report that the CFPB has denied a Petition for Rulemaking filed by a group of consumer advocate organizations that would prohibit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts in...more
Earlier this week, the CFPB issued a proposed rule. Among other things, the proposed rule would “forbid covered persons from including in their consumer contracts any terms or conditions that purport to waive substantive...more
1/17/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Contract Terms ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Earlier this year, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Pace v. Hamilton Cove that class action waivers in consumer contracts that do not contain an arbitration clause (i.e., a stand-alone class action waiver) are not per se...more
12/31/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
NJ Supreme Court ,
Public Policy ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
We previously wrote about a California federal district court decision in Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment that denied Ticketmaster’s motion to compel arbitration of Sherman Act antitrust claims based in large part on the...more
In connection with the petition to ban pre-dispute consumer arbitration agreements pending before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “forced arbitration,”...more
4/16/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process
Recently, 93 members of Congress (all Democrats) signed a letter in support of the pending Petition for Rulemaking filed by consumer advocacy groups in September that would prohibit pre-dispute consumer arbitration clauses...more
12/19/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Petition for Rulemaking ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration
Recently, Professor Sovern replied to our blog post that commented on the letter that he and 160 other law academicians submitted to the CFPB in support of the pending Petition for Rulemaking that would prohibit pre-dispute...more
We previously reported and released a podcast episode on comments that we and Professor David Sherwyn of Cornell University submitted in opposition to the Petition for Rulemaking filed by a number of consumer advocacy groups...more
12/7/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Contract Disputes ,
CRA ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process
A Rhode Island federal district court recently refused to enforce a stand-alone class action waiver in the consumer plaintiff’s automobile lease agreement on the ground that it violates state public policy. The court in...more
10/27/2023
/ Auto Lease ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Leasing Act (CLA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion To Strike ,
Rhode Island ,
Waivers
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
In a recent “open letter” to newly confirmed CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, Professor Jeff Sovern asks the agency not to forget about “arbitration” as it implements its regulatory agenda. He argues that “[p]re-dispute...more
In a recent guest post, Professor Mark Budnitz voiced support for Professor Jeff Sovern’s recent proposal that the CFPB issue a rule barring the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements unless consumers opt in to them. He...more
Professor Jeff Sovern responded to our blog criticizing his proposal for a new CFPB arbitration rule by asserting that his proposed rule is not substantially the same as the prior CFPB rule that Congress vetoed and,...more
After denying the defendants’ petitions for panel and en banc rehearing in the Blair v. Rent-a-Center appeals, the Ninth Circuit has granted their motions to stay the issuance of the Court’s mandates for 90 days pending the...more
1/31/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
En Banc Review ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Judicial Review ,
Lamps Plus Inc v Varela ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
The McGill Rule
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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released its preliminary report on two studies it conducted to help understand the effectiveness of class action settlement notices and to “develop information to help improve...more
The Supreme Court held last year in Epic Systems v. Lewis that mandatory arbitration agreements requiring employees to arbitrate claims against their employer on an individual—rather than on a class or collective—basis are...more
8/25/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
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
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