Category Archives: Arbitration

Bloomberg BNA: Trump Presidency Creates Uncertainty for Arbitration Rules

Here. The entire article is worth reading, but I've pasted in an excerpt below.  (HT: Gregory Gauthier) “Trump and his businesses seem to have been big proponents of arbitration, using it as a way of getting disputes out of courts and therefore out of the public eye,” defense attorney Liz Kramer told Bloomberg BNA. Kramer, of Stinson […]

Man Spends $100,000 to Arbitrate $150 in Citibank Overdraft Fees

CBS MoneyWatch has the story here. (HT: Gregory Gauthier).  Excerpt: While the arbitrator sided with Dempsey, the ruling proved to be something of a Pyrrhic victory. The decision awarded Dempsey more than $20,500 in actual and punitive damages, as well as $30,000 in attorney fees, or about one-third of Dempsey’s legal costs. Since Citibank has […]

Sebok Article: The Unwritten Federal Arbitration Act

Anthony J. Sebok of Cardozo has written The Unwritten Federal Arbitration Act, 65 DePaul Law Review (2016).  Here's the abstract: Justice Scalia’s opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion presented a new challenge to lawyers and scholars concerned with the unbridled growth of mandatory consumer arbitration. Not only did the decision continue to expand the scope […]

Nothing in Debates on Consumer Law–or Banking: Sad!

by Jeff Sovern Some reactions from Politico's Morning Money: TOP EMAIL from Richard Hunt, President & CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association: “Four debates and no Wall Street or bank bashing. Didn't see that coming.” * * * Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg: “Sec. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have now faced off in three presidential debates […]

Consumer Clinical Law Professors Comment on CFPB’s Arbitration Rule

by Jeff Sovern I meant to post this a long time ago, but then I got caught up teaching an intensive class, followed by an overload and didn't get to it. Anyway, here is a comment on the CFPB's proposed arbitration rule posted by law professors teaching consumer law clinics (we had previously covered a law […]

Wells Fargo Debacle Increases Visibility of Arbitration Clauses in National Politics

Hillary Clinton gave a speech today in which she hit Wells Fargo's use of arbitration clauses, among other things.  Some excerpts: [T]he Wells Fargo scandal shed light on another threat to consumers that we have to address. When the scams victims, people like you and me who had accounts there tried to sue, they were […]

Media Reports on How Wells Fargo’s Arbitration Clauses Might Block Consumers from Obtaining Compensation

Here is the Consumer Reports story.  Excerpt: If a bank employee opens fake accounts and credit cards in your name, as recently happened at Wells Fargo, you may be charged fees for those fake accounts, which you didn't pay because you didn't know the accounts existed. And since you didn't pay those fees, your credit report […]

Debate Moderators: Don’t Forget About Consumer Protection

by Jeff Sovern The country faces many issues which merit attention during the debates. Among them is consumer protection.  Failures of consumer law contributed to 2008's Great Recession.  Consumer protection is regularly in the headlines (just ask Wells Fargo or Volkswagen).  The choice of the next president is likely to have a huge impact on consumer […]

What I Learned From Listening to Wells Fargo’s CEO Stumpf Testify (and to Senator Warren’s and Brown’s Questions)

by Jeff Sovern As we noted yesterday, on Tuesday, Wells Fargo CEO John G. Stumpf testified before the Senate Banking Committee about the Wells Fargo Customer Fraud Fiasco.  Video is available here and Senator Elizabeth Warren's two rounds of questioning, by themselves, here. I have now listened to Mr. Stumpf's testimony, and I learned that Wells engaged in cross-selling to […]