A federal judge in Manhattan has denied summary judgment in an antitrust suit against Citigroup and Discover Bank alleging that they conspired with other banks to add arbitration clauses to their credit card agreements in order to curb class actions. The case alleges that the banks formed an “Arbitration Coalition” that met multiple times between … Continue reading Credit Card Arbitration Antitrust Suit Goes Forward
The consensus had been the Consumer Financial Products Board, finally (but perhaps temporarily) able to act since the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as Director, would have too much on its plate to move quickly on its Congressional mandate to study consumer arbitration in financial services agreements. But Cordray was quoted in a Washington Post … Continue reading Will the CFPB Take Action on Mandatory Arbitration?
Earlier this month, the NLRB ruled that employers may not require employees to consent to the waiver of class rights as part of an employment arbitration agreement. The NLRB’s rationale was that the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Norris-LaGuardia Act guarantee employees the right to enforce their provisions through collective action. Now, in Sutherland … Continue reading SDNY Invalidates Class Waiver for FLSA Claim
Jean Sternlight’s post on the NLRB’s decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda cogently summarizes the NLRB’s rationale for treating class waivers differently in the employment context governed by the NLRA than in other FAA contexts. As she points out, this decision is controversial. Because it runs counter to a steady current of Supreme Court … Continue reading How Will Courts Review the NLRB Employment Class Action Decision?
Just as some states are giving up on their foreclosure mediation programs (see my note on the demise of Florida’s program here), the Department of Justice is urging greater investment in foreclosure mediation. Through the report of its Access to Justice Initiative, DOJ makes a number of recommendations, including increased research and evaluation of state … Continue reading Federal Support for Foreclosure Mediation
In a thoroughly unsurprising decision, the Supreme Court today held in CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood that claims under the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act are arbitrable. CROA contains a disclosure rule requiring that consumers be notified that they “have a right to sue a credit repair organization that violates the Credit Repair Organization Act.” The … Continue reading Supreme Court Holds CROA Claims Arbitrable, Surprising No One
I have criticized the Supreme Court’s arbitration jurisprudence for cutting off the procedural rights of consumers and employees. See this, this, and this. Those are policy objections rooted in federalism as well as state and federal guarantees of due process and the right to a civil jury trial. I have not contended that consumer arbitration … Continue reading On the Benefits of Consumer Arbitration
Florida has ended its foreclosure mediation program begun in 2009. The state Supreme Court scuttled the program because it was only settling 4% of the cases. It appears the program had lots of problems, including a failure to contact borrowers and a resistance by lenders to participate actively. What else is new? The legislatures and … Continue reading Florida Foreclosure Mediation Program Ends with a Yawn
In late November, a first-of-its-kind arbitration ended when the mobile phone technology companies Skyworks and AATI settled their dispute over their failed merger. Although there was no award, the arbitration was significant because the arbitrator was a judge on the Delaware Court of Chancery–which just happens to be the court in which the claim was … Continue reading In Court, but Out of Sight: Chancery Court Arbitration
In Buckeye Check Cashing v. Cardegna, Justice Scalia authored an opinion for the Supreme Court holding that, where a consumer credit contract contains an arbitration provision, the arbitrator rather than a court decides all questions about the legality of the underlying debt instrument. Buckeye’s holding was controversial, because it effectively pushes a consumer debtor into arbitration … Continue reading Originalism, Arbitration, and the Civil Jury
