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
Adding more complexity to the issue of arbitration contract formation, the Ninth Circuit has rejected Samsung's attempt to compel individual arbitration of fraud claims asserted by plaintiffs in two class actions. Ruling in...more
1/25/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Cell Phones ,
Class Action ,
Consent ,
Contract Terms ,
Fraud ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Mobile Devices ,
Motion to Compel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Samsung ,
Smartphones ,
Warranties ,
Wireless Devices ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
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 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that to study the effectiveness of various class action settlement notice programs, it has issued orders to eight claims administrators requiring them to provide information on...more
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 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
Republican Congressman Randy Neugebauer, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, and Democratic Congressman W. Lacy Clay, the Subcommittee’s Ranking...more
9/16/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Legislative Committees ,
Safe Harbors ,
Service Contracts
In an important decision underscoring the challenges faced by retailers and others in enforcing online arbitration agreements with their customers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reversed a district...more
8/30/2016
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Browsewrap Agreement ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Clickwrap Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet Retailers ,
Retail Market ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Websites
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 American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and The Financial Services Roundtable (Associations) have filed a joint letter commenting on the CFPB’s proposed rule regulating consumer arbitration...more
8/23/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Service Contracts
The Pew Charitable Trusts has released an issue brief, “Consumers Want the Right to Resolve Bank Disputes in Court,” in which it urges the CFPB to “expeditiously finalize” its proposed arbitration rule. The CFPB’s proposal...more
8/19/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Pew Foundation
Perhaps overshadowed in the raging battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to ban the use of class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements involving consumer financial products or services is...more
8/10/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Clickwrap Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Mobile Apps ,
Motion to Compel ,
Privacy Policy ,
Registration ,
Sharing Economy ,
Terms of Service ,
Uber
A total of 102 Democratic lawmakers, consisting of 37 Democratic Senators joined by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and 65 House members, have signed on to letters sent to Director Cordray expressing support for the CFPB’s...more
8/5/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Service Contracts
A divided California Supreme Court has held that an arbitrator, rather than a court, should determine whether an arbitration clause in an employment agreement allows employees to bring their claims in arbitration on a...more
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
A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal is a “must read” for those who will be affected if the CFPB’s May 5, 2016 proposed rule banning class action waivers in consumer financial services arbitration agreements becomes...more
5/23/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Service Contracts ,
Wall Street Journal
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
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness has sent a letter to Director Cordray suggesting a series of issues for Mr. Cordray to address in his prepared remarks at the CFPB’s field hearing on...more
At a presentation on February 18, 2016 to the American Constitution Society, CFPB Director Richard Cordray devoted most of his remarks to the subject of consumer arbitration. Director Cordray revealed that the effect on...more
Today, the CFPB announced at a field hearing in Denver, Colorado that it is considering proposing rules that would prohibit consumer financial services companies from using class action waivers in consumer arbitration...more
Recently, Professor Jeff Sovern sent an email to the editor of the Consumer Financial Services Law Report commenting on an article we published in the August 9, 2015 issue of the Report titled, “CFPB Makes Consumer...more
We have previously blogged about the comment letter concerning the CFPB’s March 10, 2015 Study on consumer arbitration that we submitted to the CFPB on behalf of the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers...more