by Jeff Sovern The Chamber of Commerce has released a study about arbitration. I paste in immediately below the relevant portion of the press release, and then I identify some methodological issues with the study. A new study released today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform found that consumers and employees […]
Category Archives: Arbitration
by Jeff Sovern Earlier this week, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on consumer arbitration clauses. The consumer side was ably represented by Paul Bland, Myriam Gilles, and Remington Gregg. I want to say something about the arguments put forth at the hearing by Senator Toomey and Professor Todd Zywicki. Professor Toomey argued that […]
Amy J. Schmitz of Ohio State has written Will the United States Remain Exceptional in Enforcing Predispute Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contexts? MARC. Revista de Medios Alternativos de Resolución de Conflictos, no 2, 34-39 (August 2021) at Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Here’s the abstract: American exceptionalism” has been used to reference the […]
by Jeff Sovern Bloomberg reports that the House will vote this month on the FAIR Act, a bill to bar arbitration clauses in consumer and employment contracts. The House last passed a similar bill in 2019. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on arbitration Tuesday. The stumbling block to congressional action remains the […]
David Horton of California, Davis has written Forced Remote Arbitration, 108 Cornell Law Review (2022). Here’s the abstract: Courts responded to COVID-19 by going remote. In early 2020, as lockdown orders swept through the country, virtual hearings—which once were rare—became common. This shift generated fierce debate about how video trials differ from in-person proceedings. Now, […]
The effort was led by Berkeley's Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice and resulted in production of a series of short memoranda available here. Topics covered include discrimination, arbitration, income share agreements, BNPL, substitution effects of regulation, disclosures, overdraft protections, and more.
Andrea Chandrasekher of California, Davis has written An Empirical Investigation of Diversity in U.S. Arbitration. Here is the abstract: For decades, the United States system of arbitration has been subject to nearly constant public criticism. Calling arbitration a rigged judicial system, consumer and employee rights groups have voiced opposition to the practice of “forced arbitration” whereby […]
Dear Rohit: Congratulations on your confirmation to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau! You are an excellent choice for many reasons, not least because you bring to the CFPB helm the experience of having served as an FTC Commissioner as well as having been at the CFPB in its earliest days. Much […]
Here, by Amelia Pollard. Excerpt: Conservative pro-business groups have hit upon a new tactic to protect its members’ interests: outright purchasing of grassroots support. Late last week, David Chami, an Arizona attorney who specializes in consumer protection, received an email from Drew Johnson, who identified himself as working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Johnson […]
Farshad Ghodoosi of the David Nazarian School of Business & Economics, California State University, Northridge and Monica Sharif of California State University, Los Angeles have written Justice in Arbitration: The Consumer Perspective, International Journal of Conflict Management (2021). Here is the abstract: Purpose: Arbitration—a binding private third-party adjudication—has been the primary legal way for resolution […]