Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts: Is There Change Afoot?
Arbitration clauses seriously harm many consumers. Yet it is nearly impossible to avoid signing them, if a person wants or needs to use the internet, phone, credit cards, loans, medical or long-term care services, and so on, according to an article posted by Newsome Melton on its Arbitration Law blog.
But lately, many state and federal government representatives, judges, politicians, and interest groups have been speaking up about arbitration, the article adds. Some have publicly pulled away from upholding universal “forced arbitration.”
“Individual arbitration clauses are now on the radar of many attorneys, judges, politicians, regulators, journalists, and consumers. It is too soon to tell whether the new or proposed regulations and rules preserving court trials and permitting class actions for consumers will be upheld or overturned,” the article says.
