Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: How to Use the Restatement of Consumer Contracts - A Guide for Judges
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: “Accidental Arbitration” -- A New Theory that Would Rein in Consumer Arbitration Clauses and the Scope of the FAA
OK at Work: Navigating Customer Terms and Usage
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Look at the FTC’s Click-to-Cancel Rule, with James Kohm, Associate Director of Enforcement Division of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Look at a New Approach to Consumer Contracts
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Reasons Why the CFPB Should Deny the Petition for Rulemaking on Post-Dispute Consumer Arbitration Agreements
Effective May 1, 2025, the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) amended its Consumer Arbitration Rules, including Rule 12 dealing with the registration of consumer arbitration clauses. The AAA stated that its goal was to...more
Earlier this year, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Pace v. Hamilton Cove that class action waivers in consumer contracts that do not contain an arbitration clause (i.e., a stand-alone class action waiver) are not per se...more
In Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., a panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision refusing to enforce the Ticketmaster arbitration provision in a purported consumer antitrust class action brought...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s decision denying a defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, underscoring the importance of clear and conspicuous notice in online...more
In a recent decision, EDVA Judge Rossie Alston invalidated the arbitration clause in the terms and conditions for online sales through the Lowe’s Home Centers website on the grounds that the terms and conditions were illusory...more
Our special guest is Andrea Boyack, Professor, University of Missouri School of Law. We first discuss the principles that underlie our current system of consumer contracts and the system’s role in promoting transactional...more
We previously reported and released a podcast episode on comments that we and Professor David Sherwyn of Cornell University submitted in opposition to the Petition for Rulemaking filed by a number of consumer advocacy groups...more
Our special guest is David Sherwyn, Professor of Law at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. In Sept. 2023, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would...more
Earlier this month, in Fama v. Opportunity Financial LLC, a Magistrate Judge of the federal district court for the Western District of Washington held that the arbitration provision in OppFi’s installment loan agreement is...more
Professor Jeff Sovern recently blogged about the FTC’s June 2023 revisions to its Endorsement Guide. The Guide helps advertisers and endorsers make sure that their advertising using endorsements or testimonials is truthful...more
For the past decade, Professor Jeff Sovern has criticized companies for including opt out provisions in their consumer arbitration clauses, even though such provisions give consumers freedom of choice by allowing them to...more
On Jan. 11, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a proposed rule that would require nonbanks under its supervisory authority, subject to limited exceptions, to annually register information about...more
Downloading an app, buying a product or service, or otherwise interacting with a company frequently requires consumers to consent to multi-page contracts. In a new proposed rule, the CFPB would require nonbank financial...more
On September 13, 2022, Public Justice and other consumer advocacy groups sent a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra urging the CFPB to limit the use of “forced” arbitration provisions by banks and other consumer finance...more
We recently wrote about a Law 360 report indicating that the CFPB appears unlikely, at least in the near future, to undertake new rulemaking that would regulate the use of consumer arbitration agreements. The report was...more
Key Points - - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the first part of final rules on permissible communications in connection with the collection of consumer debt, called the Final Rule. - This advisory...more
This past Friday, by a vote of 225-186, the House passed H.R. 1423, the “Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act.” A Senate companion bill (S. 610) was introduced in February 2019 and referred to the Senate Judiciary...more
The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) reflects a strong federal policy in favor of arbitration. In extraordinary cases, however, a dispute that otherwise would be arbitrable under the FAA could be rendered non-arbitrable by...more
Ruling in a class action brought against Uber Technologies, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that the company's arbitration clause could not be enforced because it was not "reasonably...more
The Fifth Circuit has affirmed an order compelling arbitration, despite the fact that the parties seeking to compel arbitration were not signatories to the relevant arbitration agreement....more
President Donald Trump effectively stopped the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) so-called “arbitration rule,” signing legislation repealing the rule on Nov. 1. The rule would have prohibited providers of certain...more
The CFPB is scheduled to publish a notice in tomorrow’s Federal Register removing the agency’s final arbitration rule from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). ...more
Much has been said and written about Congress’ rejection of the CFPB proposal to ban class action waivers in arbitration agreements between consumers and financial services companies. One of the most frequent statements I...more
Two weeks after President Trump signed H.J. Res. 111, the joint resolution passed by the House and Senate disapproving the CFPB arbitration rule, the CFPB has formally acknowledged Congress’ override of the rule under the...more
In a blog post last week, we noted that there had been no official statement from the CFPB about Congress’ override of the CFPB’s arbitration rule, which President Trump signed on November 1....more