Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Look at a New Approach to Consumer Contracts
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Reasons Why the CFPB Should Deny the Petition for Rulemaking on Post-Dispute Consumer Arbitration Agreements
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s decision denying a defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, underscoring the importance of clear and conspicuous notice in online...more
In September 2024, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the grant of a motion to compel arbitration in a proposed class action claiming that Wisconsin-based retailer Menards used a “deceptive bait-and-switch scheme” to charge...more
In recent years, technology advancement has introduced new methods for contract formation. In particular, the rise of blockchain technology has led to the emergence of “smart contracts”, which are digital contracts which...more
In a recent decision, EDVA Judge Rossie Alston invalidated the arbitration clause in the terms and conditions for online sales through the Lowe’s Home Centers website on the grounds that the terms and conditions were illusory...more
Join us for the latest episode of Financial Services Focus as Andy Demko and Archis Parasharami discuss how consumer arbitration became popular among U.S. businesses in response to class actions from the late 90s onward. The...more
A recent trend in litigation has emerged that is causing companies to re-think conventional wisdom. Until now, it has been a widely adopted best practice for retailers and other consumer-facing companies to include mandatory...more
The North Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday, May 23 held that a credit union’s unilateral update to add an arbitration provision and class action waiver to its contract with one of its customers was valid under North...more
In a recent unpublished memorandum opinion in a putative class action, Carpenter et al. v. Opportunity Financial, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld an arbitration clause in an agreement governing...more
For more than a decade, companies have benefited immensely from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 decision of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, which upheld a company's right to compel consumers into participating in individual...more
For more than a decade, companies have benefited immensely from the United States Supreme Court decision of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011), which upheld a company’s right to compel consumers into...more
Eversheds Sutherland presents periodic updates to inform companies entering or already established in the US market about newly enacted rules or trends that may be traps for the unwary. The purpose of these updates is to...more
A state appellate court in California reversed a superior court’s denial of a massage franchisor’s motion to compel arbitration. Jane Doe #1 (I.G.) v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC, 2023 WL 8801517 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 20,...more
Our special guest is Andrea Boyack, Professor, University of Missouri School of Law. We first discuss the principles that underlie our current system of consumer contracts and the system’s role in promoting transactional...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
Our special guest is David Sherwyn, Professor of Law at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. In Sept. 2023, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would...more
Professor Jeff Sovern recently blogged about the FTC’s June 2023 revisions to its Endorsement Guide. The Guide helps advertisers and endorsers make sure that their advertising using endorsements or testimonials is truthful...more
Le 4 août 2023, la Cour d’appel de la Colombie-Britannique (la « CACB ») a rendu des décisions connexes dans Williams v. Amazon.com Inc. (l’« affaire Williams ») et dans Petty v. Niantic Inc. (l’« affaire Petty »). Dans ces...more
Professor Jeff Sovern, who recently joined the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law faculty, has recently blogged about a forthcoming Study by academicians at other institutions that will be published in...more
On August 4, 2023, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) released companion decisions in Williams v. Amazon.com Inc. (Williams) and Petty v. Niantic Inc. (Petty). In both cases, the BCCA upheld partial stays of proposed...more
In Payward Inc, Payward Ventures Inc and Payward Ltd v Chechetkin [2023] EWHC 1780 (Comm), the English Commercial Court refused to enforce a California-seated arbitration award, on the basis that enforcement would contravene...more
In January 2023, a federal district court in Texas dismissed Michael v. Opportunity Financial, LLC, a putative class action filed in June 2022 claiming that fintech Opportunity Financial, LLC (OppFi), not its out-of-state,...more
The District of Massachusetts’s recent decision in Fairfield v. DCD Auto. Holdings, Inc., No. 22-cv-11977, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109463 (D. Mass. June 26, 2023) serves as a key reminder for businesses not only to have...more
For the past decade, Professor Jeff Sovern has criticized companies for including opt out provisions in their consumer arbitration clauses, even though such provisions give consumers freedom of choice by allowing them to...more
In October 2018, Eva Cornell opened checking and savings accounts with Desert Financial Credit Union. In so doing, Cornell agreed to terms and conditions, including an agreement that Desert Financial could “change those terms...more
In 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group, L.P. that in order to be enforceable, arbitration clauses must contain an express waiver of the parties’ right to seek relief in a court of...more