Financial Institutions, Federal Arbitration Act

The Latest Attack on Consumer Arbitration Agreements

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 3/18/2025

The war against arbitration agreements continues apace. The latest volley comes from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Johnson v. Continental Finance Company, LLC, No. 23-2047 (4th Cir. Mar. 11, 2025). In...more

Third Circuit Illustrates Federal Court Presumption for Exercising Concurrent Jurisdiction

McGlinchey Stafford on 2/5/2025

Arsenis v. M&T Bank is a tale of two cases. The bank brought an action against Ms. Arsenis to foreclosure on a mortgage loan in New Jersey Superior Court. Through a combination of defenses and counterclaims in the foreclosure...more

Fourth Circuit Holds SCRA Does Not Bar Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Agreements, Forcing Portion of Class Action Into...

Troutman Pepper Locke on 1/29/2025

On January 27, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a significant opinion holding that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) does not prohibit the enforcement of arbitration...more

Ballard Spahr attorneys and Cornell University law professor submit comments opposing CFPB rulemaking on post-dispute consumer...

Ballard Spahr LLP on 11/15/2023

Ballard Spahr Senior Counsel Alan S. Kaplinsky and Mark J. Levin, and David Sherwyn, Professor of Law at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, today submitted lengthy comments to the Consumer Financial...more

Rhode Island federal court nixes stand-alone class action waiver

Ballard Spahr LLP on 10/27/2023

A Rhode Island federal district court recently refused to enforce a stand-alone class action waiver in the consumer plaintiff’s automobile lease agreement on the ground that it violates state public policy. The court in...more

Consumer Advocates Petition CFPB to Undertake Rulemaking to Prohibit “Pre-dispute” Consumer Arbitration Clauses

Ballard Spahr LLP on 9/18/2023

Earlier last week, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would prohibit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts in favor of arbitration clauses...more

US Courts Gain Prominence as ‘Anchor’ Forum for Enforcing International Arbitration Awards

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 1/27/2021

A growing number of cases in which private parties are seeking enforcement of very large arbitration awards are percolating through the U.S. courts. These awards emanate both from tribunals seated in the United States (where...more

Food and Beverage Law Update: June 2018

Holland & Knight LLP on 6/12/2018

Wage and Hour - Decision Upholds Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Clauses, Resolves Circuit Split - The U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis on May 21, 2018, holding that...more

California anti-arbitration law nears passage

Ballard Spahr LLP on 6/30/2017

California’s legislative effort to allow consumers to sue financial institutions for fraud even though they have agreed to arbitrate such disputes passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee this week and is expected to pass the...more

Sixth Circuit Finds District Court Erred In Ruling On Arbitration Waiver Issue Where Issues As To Arbitrability Were Reserved For...

Carlton Fields on 5/30/2017

The Plaintiff, Hilton, a computer purchaser, entered into a repayment agreement with Dell Financial Services, LLC, which later sold the debt to Midland Funding, to purchase a Dell computer on credit. The underlying issue in...more

Dancing On Their Own: The California Supreme Court’s Decision in McGill v. Citibank, N.A. that Class Action Waivers Do Not Apply...

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/10/2017

On April 6, 2017, the California Supreme Court struck another blow in its contentious battle with the United States Supreme Court on the enforceability of consumer arbitration clauses subject to the Federal Arbitration Act...more

First Circuit Affirms District Court’s Confirmation Of Arbitration Award Under The “Look-Through” Test

Carlton Fields on 2/14/2017

The background of this matter could be found here. In sum, Plaintiffs Dr. Luis Ortiz-Espinosa and his wife Maritza Soto-Garcia, the conjugal partnership they formed, Espinosa-Soto, and Luis Ortiz-Espinosa, as trustee of...more

Second Circuit Upholds Refusal To Compel Arbitration Due To Unavailable Forum, Recognizing Split In Federal Circuits

Carlton Fields on 10/20/2016

A borrower had previously entered into three payday loan agreements that contained arbitration provisions mandating that all claims be arbitrated in the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), and under the Code of Procedure of the...more

CFPB Targets Mandatory Arbitration Clauses to Protect Consumer Class Actions

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP on 5/11/2016

On May 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a proposed rule to prohibit providers of certain consumer financial products and services from using arbitration clauses to block consumers from filing...more

CFPB issues proposed rule to prohibit class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements

Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/6/2016

As widely anticipated, the CFPB announced at its field hearing today in Albuquerque, New Mexico that it is proposing regulations that would prohibit covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services from...more

Emerging Trends in Arbitration: Battle Brewing Between Executive and Judicial Branches

Stinson LLP on 4/12/2016

In recent years, arbitration has become a divisive issue. Exemplifying the increased public focus on arbitration, The New York Times ran a three-part series in 2015 that was very critical of the state of arbitration law. In...more

New York Times article omits critical pro-arbitration facts

Ballard Spahr LLP on 11/3/2015

An article on consumer arbitration in this week’s Sunday New York Times concludes that “[b]y inserting individual arbitration clauses into a soaring number of consumer and employment contracts, companies… devised a way to...more

Responding to Professor Sovern: how Dodd-Frank Section 1028 limits the CFPB’s power to regulate arbitration agreements

Ballard Spahr LLP on 10/23/2015

In a blog post earlier this week, Professor Jeff Sovern took issue with statements made by a legal expert that suggest an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act would be necessary for the CFPB to ban class action waivers in...more

CFPB Announces Intent to Commence Arbitration Rulemaking

Morrison & Foerster LLP on 10/21/2015

On October 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is considering two rulemaking proposals that would severely limit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer financial service...more

Fourth Circuit Rejects Characterization Of Motions “For Reconsideration,” Remands To Determine Whether Dispute Is Arbitrable

Carlton Fields on 7/29/2015

The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently remanded a case to the district court for full consideration of a request to compel arbitration, finding the lower court’s order “inconsistent with the emphatic federal...more

Dodd-Frank News: June 2015: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Update

Burr & Forman on 6/26/2015

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted as a measure to promote financial stability and protection for consumers through increased regulation of nearly every aspect of the consumer finance...more

Court Dismisses Challenge Of FINRA Arbitration Award For Lack Of Jurisdiction

Carlton Fields on 6/22/2015

In a case involving a FINRA arbitration between investors and their financial advisor, Judge Anita S. Brody of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that she did not have the...more

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