Major U.S. Banks Investigated For Foreclosure Fraud
With well over a million homes being repossessed, 2010 is shaping up to be a record year for foreclosures in the U.S. But there are serious questions about the way many have been carried out, and now prosecutors are investigating whether some of the country's largest banks committed fraud.

Wall Street Plays Dr. Jekyll to Avoid Court
When duped investors set out to make themselves whole after a fleecing by a broker, the American way is to hustle them off to a private court run by Wall Street. It’s a tradition that was set in stone when the Supreme Court in 1987 said that, if an investor signed an agreement to arbitrate, the sorry loser is out of luck if he ever wants a day in court... In spite of the obvious advantage Wall Street gets by having one of its own on dispute panels, there are political reasons that industry types might actually support Finra’s proposal: forces that are threatening mandatory arbitration altogether. The Dodd-Frank Act has the SEC looking into whether arbitration contracts are in the public interest; the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 had raised questions on the issue even before Dodd-Frank passed.

Blind arbitration: A system that ignores reality in setting public worker contracts must change
Just in time for the new school year: the confounding math of binding arbitration, where two plus two equals … whatever an arbitrator says it equals — and taxpayers must make up the difference.  Why are New Jersey taxpayers suffocating? Binding arbitration is Exhibit A. Arbitrators are supposed to weigh taxpayers’ ability to pay, but often don’t. It’s a rigged game, and should be scrapped.

Lowe's Drywall Settlement Called Unfair
It's a common argument against class action lawsuits: aggrieved consumers get little more than token compensation, while the lawyers walk off with all the money. That concern is being raised anew with a recently-proposed settlement involving drywall sold at Lowe's. The suit, filed in Georgia state court, concerns some of the defective Chinese drywall sold by the home improvement chain.The settlement totals $6.5 million, $2.1 million of which would go to the plaintiffs' attorneys. Meanwhile, class members are set to receive gift cards in varying amounts -- $50, $250, or $2,000 -- depending on how much money they can prove that they lost, according to ProPublica. Those who can prove damages greater than $2,000 are also eligible to receive as much as $2,500 in cash.

Arbitration Strikes Again: Used Cars
Perz signed the dealer's arbitration agreement, meaning that despite hiring a lawyer his case would never reach a judge. Despite being advertised as faster than litigation, after three years his case is still in arbitration. Now he's up against an arbitrator whose record against consumers is abysmal.  Related articles: Support The Arbitrattion Fairness Act HR 1020

Widely used arbitration quietly closes doors of protest for consumers
 Most consumer contracts include clauses that require you to take any disputes with the auto dealership, phone company or retailer to an arbitrator — one chosen by the business. You can't take the business to court. You might not even be able to take part in a class action lawsuit with others who have similar complaints. And the arbitrator's decision — with no explanation — is generally final.Consumers often aren't aware of this because the clauses are buried in the fine print of contracts. And even those who know what to look for say it's almost impossible to avoid arbitration mandates when signing up for a product or service.

Beware the Fine Print
Buried in the fine print of most contracts for cellphones, health insurance and credit cards is a clause requiring that all disputes be decided by binding arbitration, rather than a court. Businesses love these provisions, because arbitrators act quickly and almost always rule in their favor, and many employers are requiring new hires to sign similar agreements... Unless Congress changes the rules, these cases may never get back to the courts, where they have a chance for a fair resolution.

Calif. Assembly acts to protect hate-crime victims
The state Assembly approved a bill Thursday intended to protect victims of hate crimes... The bill would ban a practice that requires people to sign away their right to a legal challenge...  Victims of hate crimes should never be forced into arbitration simply because they signed an employment or residential contract with fine print that waives their right to seek justice in the courts," Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, a nonprofit group that sponsored the bill, said in a statement.

Bill seeking accountability in arbitration to become law (Printed April 2, 2010)
A new law initially sponsored by Maine Rep. Sean Flaherty (D-Scarborough) and signed by Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday will enlarge the fine print by requiring companies and individuals providing arbitration services in Maine to post results of their decisions on a Web site. Basic consumer information, including potential expenses and whether an attorney may be present at a hearing, also must be posted...A 2009 report by the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection showed eight individual arbitration providers from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and three national firms helped decide 2,500 cases in Maine during 2008.

Express-News Letter to the Editor: Needed wake-up call
Recently I participated in a hearing at the state Capitol in regards to mandatory binding arbitration. Filled with arbiters, trial lawyers, consumer groups and consumers, the hearings led to a tell-all of experiences with the homebuilding industry. As a victim of a homebuilder in Houston, I participated in earlier hearings asking our elected officials to enact laws protecting unsuspecting potential homebuyers if their homes are deemed defective, and making homebuilders responsible for all costs.  Aside from the abolishment of the Texas Residential Construction Commission, nothing changed and pleas remain unanswered. The San Antonio subdivision in which houses are literally sliding down a hill sends a wake-up call to legislators.  If you do nothing to hold the homebuilding industry accountable for mistakes, the next case could be catastrophic.  Marcia Kushner, Houston