Texas' chief justice calls for overhaul of state courts
It should also examine the growing use of private dispute resolution to settle legal disputes outside the public courts, Jefferson insisted.  "The outcomes in a private system need not be consistent," he said, warning that injustice can result because "appellate review is virtually nonexistent." In addition, he cautioned, "a privately litigated matter may well affect public rights. Its resolution may ultimately harm the public good or, because those decisions are secret, impede an innovation to a recurring problem, much to the detriment of Texas citizens."

Homebuyers cede rights
After nearly five years of trying to get the homebuilder to fix the problem, Fonseca is finally going to arbitration. But the language in his purchasing contract makes it sound as if he doesn't even have a chance. "I waived a lot of my rights," he said. "I didn't realize what I was signing with all the papers at the closing." Fonseca isn't alone. At least 20 of the state's biggest homebuilders have similar contracts in which home owners waive many legal remedies to construction defects, according to the Colorado Home Alliance, a homeowner advocacy group that has spent weeks collecting the contracts.

CONSUMER INVESTIGATION: In A Bind
Got a beef with your builder? Your credit card company? Your cell phone provider? Chances are, going to court is not an option. When you signed your contract, you signed up for binding arbitration -- and you may wish you hadn’t after hearing from Consumer Investigator Jim Strickland.   See News2 Investigative report

The deck is stacked against homebuyers
The danger is that an arbitrator has the power of a Supreme Court Justice since arbitration decisions are final and can not be appealed.  For the past 10 years this consumer abusive system has been exploited by the homebuilding industry to avoid all warranty responsibility for defectively built homes.

Judge: Payday Loan Firms Must Submit to Class Action Arbitration
In an order dated Dec. 12, Maass ruled that class action waivers signed by thousands of people who obtained payday loans through Check 'n Go of Florida Inc., were unconscionable. Maass wrote that "the chance that [the named plaintiff] could have obtained competent counsel absent the possibility of class action status ... is effectively zero."

Corporate America: Get Behind Your Product!
It’s funny that criminals like murderers and robbers have full access to courts of general jurisdiction, but ordinary law-abiding taxpayers do not.  What I don’t understand is why so many companies have resorted to binding mandatory arbitration. Don’t they stand behind their products any more?  Why do they find it necessary to sneak BMA clauses into the fine print of sales contracts? BMA has truly reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and it needs to be stopped. Businesses need to be held accountable for the goods and services they sell instead of blaming their customers, or forcing them to surrender access to the courts.

Area foreclosures are growing more frequent
Tara was thrilled when she was able to buy her first home and live closer to her mom. Tara and Jason were both only 21 when they bought the condo...Their first mortgage was with a company offered by the builder of their townhome. The couple made one payment to the first company, and their mortgage was sold to a second company in June 2003...The checks were sent on time as arranged and cashed, but never credited to the mortgage loan.

Give Me Back My Rights!
Model State Arbitration Legislation -  What's in your new home contract?  Fair Homebuyer Contract Model

Is Justice Served?
Hundreds of judges have deserted the bench to enrich themselves in a system of private arbitration. The arena is largely unregulated and tilted, many say, in favor of big business and against the litt...The pay-for-justice phenomenon extends nationwide, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in business a year...Now, if you're rich, you not only can afford to send your kids to the best schools and obtain the best healthcare and employ the best lawyers, but you can hire the best judges too...Large companies are using arbitration to diminish many hard-won consumer rights...And take a guess: When private judges are deciding between a big company and you, which way do you think they tend to lean?...Arbitrator Norman Brand recalls one retirement party announcement for a judge going into private arbitration. The invitation, he says, was covered in dollar signs.

L.A. Times Slams Arbitration as "Private Judging"
A Law.com article suggested that arbitration was suffering a fall from grace. This Texas article suggested that companies were backing away from arbitration..."Is Justice Served?" from the L.A. Times. Written by a lawyer with 20-years' experience, it refers to arbitration as "private judging" which is "largely unregulated and tilted." Indeed, it names various arbitration companies, slams former judges who are now arbitrators, and labels it "the pay-for-justice phenomenon."