Rep. Johnson seeks to strengthen consumer, employee rights
Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced legislation today known as the Arbitration Fairness Act. The bill aims to protect consumers from business practices that require them to cede their rights to a jury trial as a condition of service. The Judiciary Committee, on which Johnson serves, held hearings on the bill in 2007 and 2008. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced similar legislation in the Senate in 2007. Today, many businesses rely on mandatory and binding pre-dispute arbitration agreements that force consumers, employees and franchisees to settle any dispute with a company providing products or services without the benefit of a jury trial.  Read more...

Screwed by the Fine Print
Arbitration does not grant the three main safeguards guaranteed by our public courts: fairness, accountability and neutrality. The corporation chooses a private individual--who is not necessarily a judge or lawyer--to hear and decide the case. Corporations are repeat customers whose appeasement generates steady business. Studies show that arbitrators have financial reason to rule in their favor. Corporate clients get preferential treatment; regular people do not get anything resembling neutral decision-making.

County loses arbitration case, must pay $52.6 million to contractor
An arbitrator ruled Wednesday that Clark County must pay $52.6 million to a contractor it had publicly criticized for construction flaws that caused the Regional Justice Center to open four years late and millions of dollars over budget. ...a host of defects, including sloping floors, leaky windows, faulty steel-column footings and tic-tac-toe games scratched into doors... The county issued 120 noncompliance certificates and refused to pay the contractor until the glitches were fixed. It also penalized the company $12,000 a day for 10 months...Now the $52.6 million settlement cost could be added to the price tag.

America's access to justice at risk
America was founded by people who understood that power unchecked is power abused. That's why we have, among other things, separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, and the right to a day in court. For several years now, however, many of those with power -- in both the public and private sectors -- have had few restraints.

Democrats May Shelve Mandatory Arbitration
Democratic Party control of both Congress and the White House, a University of Illinois labor law expert thinks the arbitration clause could become a thing of the past. Michael LeRoy predicts a bill sponsored by Democrats that would bar companies from imposing arbitration will likely be approved early next year when Democrats take over the White House and add to their majorities in Congress...Arbitration would remain an option to settle disputes, but would be voluntary rather than mandatory under the proposed Arbitration Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga.

Change Coming in Key Areas of Law
Bills to eliminate predispute binding arbitration have been gaining momentum, said David Arkush, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, adding, "Binding arbitration in consumer contracts affects such a broad swath of people. Those bills were doing quite well, but we'll see better prospects in an administration that isn't going to veto them, and one of the bills was introduced by Senator Obama." His opponent in that battle agrees that eliminating mandatory arbitration will be a Democratic priority.

Don't Cry For Justice
Securities attorney Jonathan Kord Lagemann starts off today's Forbes.com Investor Team discussion with a harsh accusation against the securities industry. His clients are not investing, he says, because they know that if they need to go to arbitration they stand virtually no chance of recovering any of their losses, even if there's fraud or mismanagement involved... Seventy-one percent of customers in arbitration reported that they weren't satisfied with the outcome, and 65% believed the process was unfair. Fifty percent think they'd have gotten a different result if they had gone to court rather than arbitration, and of those who had taken separate cases to court rather than to arbitration, 76% said arbitrations were either very or somewhat unfair.

Group hopes to bring issue to voters next year after registrar officials verify signatures
Nearly 10,000 city residents signed a petition supporting a provision to remove forced contract mediation and binding arbitration from the city's charter, said one member of the group leading the charge. The group, calling itself the Committee to Remove Binding Arbitration from Vallejo Charter, had until early next month to secure about 7,000 valid resident signatures. Committee members say binding arbitration takes decisions out of local lawmakers' hands and, in effect, holds a "hammer over the city." "Binding arbitration has been one of the forces that has cost the city of Vallejo a lot of money over the years," said Libien, a petition author.

AT&T can't force customer arbitration
The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that AT&T couldn't compel a customer to resolve his dispute through arbitration, allowing him to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the telecommunications company. "It is an enormous victory for the consumers in this case," said Paul Bland, one of the plaintiff's attorneys with Public Justice in Washington, D.C. "It's an extremely important case not only for consumers in Washington but throughout the country."  Michael McKee of East Wenatchee filed a class-action suit against AT&T Corp. in 2003, alleging that it wrongly charged him and others for city utility surcharges and usurious late fees.

Write a Better Contract - With proper contractor language, remodelers can save thousands 
These contract provisions won’t cost the remodeler anything to place in his/her contract but they will almost virtually guarantee the remodeler that no unexpected issues that develop will cost him/her any of their expected profits...  Editor’s note: Stay tuned to future law columns in BUILDERnews for more on contract provisions, such as hidden issues and dispute resolution, both of which can help you retain profits and minimize disputes with clients...Drumming up business: Peter G. Merrill is president and CEO of Construction Dispute Resolution Services LL C, an NAHB Executive Board member and past president of the New Mexico Home Builders Association. He received Builder of the Year and Remodeler of the Year awards...