This article by Christopher Jensen explains that the big automakers are trying to use aribtration clauses in consumers' contracts with auto dealers to escape liability in court in class actions and with respect to individual claims under state "lemon laws." I posted in February about a Ninth Circuit ruling rejecting an effort by Toyota to […]
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Consumer advocates have long been outraged by the phenomenon of "pay for delay" in the prescription drug business, whereby brand-name drug companies pay off potential generic competitors to stay out of the market. In return for the payments, the generics drop their challenges to the brand name companies' patents, and the brand name and generic […]
In a blog post last June, we noted an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that a patient who took a generic version of a drug may sue a brand-name drug manufacturer for failing to warn about a drug’s risks. The court had reasoned that the brand-name manufacturer could have foreseen that a physician prescribing the brand-name […]
by Brian Wolfman We posted in March when a state trial court in New York threw out New York City's ban on the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. We have posted many times on the ban, including here, here, here, and here. On Tuesday, New York's appeal was argued in the New […]
In recent years, Supreme Court decisions have narrowed the circumstances in which class actions can be maintained under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. In "Walking the Class Action Maze: Toward a More Functional Rule 23," law professor Robert Bone says that because these Supreme Court decisions are interpretations of the federal rule, the rule […]
This morning, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued two opinions addressing whether there remain any circumstances in which an arbitration agreement that bans class actions can still be challenged after the Supreme Court's decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. The SJC strongly aligned itself with the view that Concepcion does not make class […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued this study on bank and credit union overdraft practices. As explained in the agency's press release, the study raises concerns about whether the overdraft costs on consumer checking accounts can be anticipated and avoided. The report shows big differences across financial institutions when it comes to overdraft coverage […]
The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, though only in its infancy, is already supplying lawyers to law firms that represent the financial services industry, as described in this article by Jenna Greene. Greene says that the law firm Buckley Sandler, whose home page describes itself as "Legal Counsel to the Financial Services Industry," "nabbed Benjamin […]
In Oxford Health Plans v. Sutter, the Supreme Court today upheld an arbitrator's decision that a particular arbitration clause authorized class arbitration. Justice Kagan wrote the main opinion, which was unanimous. The standard of review of arbitrators' decisions under the Federal Arbitration Act is highly deferential. So "the sole question for us," Justice Kagan explained, […]
In a rare win for a plaintiff in a Supreme Court case involving class actions and arbitration, the Court ruled today in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter that an arbitrator's decision to allow class rather than individual arbitration had to be accepted by the courts. What was decisive in the case was that the plaintiff […]