Category Archives: Class Actions

Kaplinsky & Levin Concede “Consumers rarely pursue individual arbitration” But Miss Mark on Why

by Jeff Sovern Earlier this week, Senator Elizabeth Warren issued a press release about the responses she had received from Bank CEOs to her questions about the CFPB's arbitration rule, Responses from Bank CEOs Demonstrate Positive Impact of CFPB Arbitration Rule, Undermine Industry Case for Reversal.  The press release contains a lot of interesting information, […]

Some Comments on Recent Op-Eds Opposing the CFPB Arbitration Rule

by Jeff Sovern I wanted to comment on a couple of op-eds opposing the CFPB arbitration rule.  One is Joseph Cioffi's piece in the American Banker, headlined CFPB arbitration rule will still pose costs to consumers.  Though Cioffi (Chair of the Insolvency, Creditors’ Rights & Financial Products Practice Group at Davis & Gilbert) sees the arbitration rule as […]

Am Banker: Equifax breach may kill repeal of CFPB mandatory arbitration rule

Here . Excerpt: The Equifax revelations come at exactly the wrong time for Republicans, who had been hoping as late as Thursday to rapidly push ahead next week on a vote to overturn the rule. * * * * * * The Equifax breach—and its controversial mandatory arbitration clause—could push some . . . Republicans […]

The Equifax Data Breach and How Equifax is Stealthily Using Arbitration to Defeat Claims by Injured Consumers

by Jeff Sovern Scott posted yesterday about the Equifax data breach, which may end up being as significant a consumer scandal as the Wells Fargo unauthorized account fiasco.  As has been pointed out elsewhere, the disclosure of the Equifax announcement is extraordinary, coming on the same day Congress considered a bill to limit damages against […]

Another Story About How Class Actions Help and Arbitration Hurts Consumers, Military Families

From Paul Bland in HuffPo, CFPB Rule Fight Forces Senators to Choose: Military Families or Big Banks. Excerpt: When Gary Childress of Raleigh, North Carolina learned in July 2008 that he was being deployed to Iraq as part of his Army National Guard service, one of the things he did before reporting for duty was to […]

Pincus Rebuttal on the Value of Class Actions

by Jeff Sovern Last week, we reported on a Law360 article by Gary Mason finding benefits to class actions. Mayer Brown's Andrew Pincus has responded to the Law360 piece, also on Law360.   Here's an excerpt (with footnotes omitted): The critical question is whether class actions generally deliver relief to class members. The answer: They don’t. * […]

Ninth Circuit affirms cy pres-only settlement in In re Google Referrer Header Privacy Litigation

Before jumping into my first post, I wanted to quickly introduce myself. I'm Mike Landis, Litigation Director for U.S. PIRG. (Obligatory disclaimer: my posts express my individual views only and not those of U.S. PIRG.) I've been a reader of this blog for sometime, and I'm excited to now participate as a contributor. My goal […]

Review of 2012 Class Actions Reported in Law360 Finds Benefits to Consumers

Gary E. Mason of Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP has written The Proper Measure Of The Value Of Class Actions for Law360.  Excerpt: Of the 118 cases initiated in 2012, 102 (or nearly 90 percent) had reached a final resolution by May 1, 2017, the date on which our study closed. Twenty-three of those cases (or […]

Marcus Article on the History of Class Actions 1981-1994

David Marcus of Arizona has written The History of the Modern Class Action, Part II: Litigation and Legitimacy, 1981-1994,  Fordham Law Review (forthcoming 2018). Here is the abstract: The first era of the modern class action began in 1966, with revisions to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It ended in 1980. […]