Imre S. Szalai of Loyola of New Orleans has written The Prevalence of Consumer Arbitration Agreements by America’s Top Companies, 52 U.C. Davis L. Rev. Online 233 (2019). Here is the abstract:
This article present the results of a study that examines the use of arbitration agreements by the top 100 Fortune Magazine-ranked largest domestic companies in the United States. The market power of these companies, which collectively represent more that two-thirds of the U.S. GDP, have enabled them to impose arbitration agreements upon their customers and have removed themselves from the traditional judicial system when disputes arise with their customers.
This study focuses on two main issues: 1) How many of these top companies have used arbitration agreements in connection with customer transactions since 2010; and 2) Of those companies, how many use arbitration agreements containing a “class waiver” requiring customers to waive their right to proceed collectively or as part of a class. The study then concludes with some observations about the prevalence of consumer arbitration agreements among America’s top companies.
