Though consumer arbitration proponents and courts often justify pre-dispute mandatory arbitration (PDMA) through the language of consent — that consumers contract with corporations freely and knowingly — opponents of PDMA understand that PDMA is forced down consumers' throats. With these two visions of arbitration in mind, you may want to read two new issue papers from the National Consumer Law Center. First, Credit Reports and Forced Arbitration: Will Congress Strip Americans of Their Day in Court? takes a look at PDMA with the Equifax fiasco in mind. And then there's Servicemembers, Veterans, and Forced Arbitration, which explains why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule on forced arbitration will protect service members and veterans even though the Military Lending Act already bans forced arbitration of certain disputes.
