Judge Denise Cote in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week held that a class action waiver in a pre-dispute arbitration clause in eBooks purchasers’ customer agreements rendered the arbitration agreement unenforeceable because the costs of pursuing claims individually would not permit individuals to vindicate their statutory rights.  See In re Electronic Books … Continue reading SDNY Court Voids Arbitration Clause with Class Action Waiver →

Not surprisingly, as reported here by the Legal Skills Prof Blog yesterday, Microsoft announced that it was revising all of its consumer contracts to add class action waivers.  Consumers will be able to pursue low dollar value disputes individually in either small claims court or arbitration, but will not be able to aggregate them with … Continue reading Microsoft adding class action waiver to its consumer contracts →

Earlier this year, I blogged about the spat between FINRA and Charles Schwab over Schwab’s class action waiver in its customer agreement’s arbitration provision.  Schwab sought a declaratory judgment from the court that its class action waiver did not violate FINRA’s rules and/or that AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion barred FINRA from enforcing its rule to … Continue reading District court denies Schwab’s request for declaratory judgment against FINRA →

I’ve emerged from grading finals to discover that the AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case has entered a  new chapter.  As most readers know, the Supreme Court, in its April 2011 opinion, reversed the district court’s denial of AT&T Mobility’s motion to compel arbitration, and remanded the case back to the district court for “further proceedings consistent with … Continue reading District court compels arbitration in Concepcion →

The blog has featured a few posts lately on the role and purpose of ADR Law Prof’s scholarship (e.g., here, here and here). Yesterday, at the New York State Judicial Institute at Pace Law School, Professor John Nolon, Director of Pace’s Kheel Center on the Resolution of Environmental Interest Disputes and the rest of his … Continue reading Symposium at Pace on Engaged Legal Scholarship →

Yesterday the SEC approved a FINRA-proposed rule change to raise the cap for Simplified Arbitration claims (i.e., paper hearings) from $25,000 to $50,000. As I wrote in a comment letter filed in support of the rule change proposal, which the SEC quoted in its approval order, the higher claim limit should “benefit investors by enhancing … Continue reading SEC Approves Rule Change to Raise the Cap for FINRA Simplified Arbitration Claims to $50,000 →

In January, I reported here that FINRA had filed a rule change proposal with the SEC to amend FINRA Dispute Resolution’s Code of Arbitration Procedure to clarify that collective actions are not arbitrable in the forum.  The SEC granted accelerated approval earlier this month.  The approval order explains that FINRA amended slightly its proposal in response … Continue reading SEC Approves FINRA Proposal to Exempt Collective Actions from FINRA Arbitration →

On Saturday, Feb. 25, the Harvard Negotiation Law Review is sponsoring a symposium entitled “Does ADR Work? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Alternative Dispute Resolution.”  Here is the symposium announcement: Saturday, February 25th Check-in at 9:30 AM • Reception to Follow at 5:00 PM 1515 Massachusetts Avenue • Cambridge, MA 02138 • Austin Hall, North Classroom  Keynote … Continue reading Harvard Negotiation Law Review Symposium on ADR Effectiveness →

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Penn State Law will host a symposium entitled “U.S. Arbitration Law in the wake of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion.”  Here is the announcement: The 2011 Supreme Court decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion last year has potentially changed the legal landscape in a number of areas including class actions and arbitration … Continue reading Penn State Law Symposium on AT&T Mobility →