The letter is here. Marketwatch has a report headlined 400 college professors say you should be able to sue Equifax and other financial institutions. Excerpt from the report:
The professors are sending the letter Monday because it is Sept. 25, the anniversary of when Congress passed the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1791, which states: “In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.”
And here are some quotes from a press release:
“Equifax’s massive data breach and the company’s effort to force people to give up their day in court are strong reminders of why Congress should not take away our 7th Amendment rights,” said Creola Johnson, the President's Club Professor of Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
“143 million Americans were impacted by the Equifax data breach, making it unrealistic for them to get relief if they are forced to bring claims alone, one-by-one, in individual arbitrations,” said David Cluchey, Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland.
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As a scholar, I’m offended by the false claims by lobbyists that the average person wins $5,389 in arbitration,” said Professor Jean Sternlight, Saltman Professor of Law and Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law. “That number is based on only 16 people a year who pursued and won in arbitration. The vast majority of people won’t even pursue a claim against a big corporation alone and will get nothing if they can’t participate in a class action.” And, added Sternlight, “in the very rare situation when consumers file arbitration claims against companies, they rarely win.”
