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
An Executive Order issued by Washington Governor Jay Inslee on June 12, 2018 seeks to rebuff the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Epic Systems LLC v. Lewis, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (May 21, 2018)...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that employers can lawfully require employees to resolve employment disputes through individual arbitration rather than by joining other employees in class or collective actions....more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that should further clarify the circumstances in which class arbitration can be required. The question presented in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela is "[w]hether the...more
In a recent decision pitting the Bankruptcy Code against the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a creditor could not compel arbitration of a debtor's class action claims...more
3/27/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Banking Sector ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 7 ,
Charge-Off ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reports ,
Creditors ,
Debt Buyers ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Compel ,
Putative Class Actions
Each state's attorney general has signed a letter demanding that Congress amend the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to prohibit mandatory arbitration provisions in claims involving workplace sexual harassment. ...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
California’s legislative effort to allow consumers to sue financial institutions for fraud even though they have agreed to arbitrate such disputes passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee this week and is expected to pass the...more
In an unusual turn-about, the U.S. Justice Department has reconsidered its earlier position in a set of closely watched arbitration cases that the Supreme Court will decide next term and filed an amicus brief supporting the...more
Emphasizing that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts state laws that "single out arbitration agreements for disfavored treatment," the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Kentucky Supreme Court's refusal to enforce...more
Director Cordray has sent a letter to Senator Jeff Flake responding to a series of questions posed by the Senator on the CFPB’s proposed arbitration rule. The comment period on the proposed rule closed on August 22, 2016. ...more
2/10/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Court Nullification ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Richard Cordray
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide an important issue that has deeply divided the Courts of Appeals—are arbitration provisions in employment agreements that waive an employee's right to bring or participate in class...more
1/16/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Case Consolidation ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 7
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, recently issued a final rule prohibiting nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from utilizing...more
11/9/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Long-Term Care ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a final rule that broadly addresses the ability of a student to assert a school's misconduct as a defense to repayment of a federal student loan. The final rule includes a ban on...more
11/4/2016
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Higher Education Act ,
Loans ,
Misrepresentation ,
Program Participation Agreements (PPAs) ,
Title IV
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, has issued a final rule that includes prohibiting nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from...more
10/3/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Long-Term Care ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Preemption ,
Skilled Nursing Facility
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 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
Conflicting decisions issued within one week of each other from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits exemplify the ongoing debate in circuit courts across the country about the enforceability of...more
6/9/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Section 7
As widely anticipated, the CFPB announced at its field hearing today in Albuquerque, New Mexico that it is proposing regulations that would prohibit covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services from...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
Resolving a split between the California Court of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit concerning the enforceability of the same DirectTV arbitration agreement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the California Court of Appeal’s...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
On March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, agreeing to resolve a split between the Ninth Circuit and California state courts on how to interpret the same DirecTV arbitration...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a petition for certiorari that challenged a California Supreme Court decision carving out an exception to the federal high court’s recent holdings in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion and...more
2/11/2015
/ American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS
Jeff Sovern, through his Consumer Law & Policy Blog, recently responded to our criticism that the St. John’s study didn’t include arbitration provisions with opt-out features. Jeff makes the point that since consumers don’t...more