Parade: Don't Get Clobbered By Credit Cards!
When a credit-card company claims you owe money, your legal rights are limited. At least 75% of cards have clauses that say disputes must be resolved in private arbitration forums, according to a recent survey. So when a disagreement arises, a consumer can’t take it to court—a serious issue if you’re a victim of identity theft or, like Troy T. Cornock of Hillsborough , N.H. , you simply don’t owe the money. Cornock was hit with a $9446.85 judgment for money he claimed was owed by his ex-wife, who had opened an account in his name. It’s only because the creditor went to court to enforce the arbiter’s award that Cornock—after five agonizing years—was able to get the ruling overturned. The banking industry defends mandatory arbitration as a fair and efficient way to handle disputes. However, a study by the consumer group Public Citizen of 34,000 California cases found that consumers lost to companies in arbitration proceedings 96% to 99% of the time. So is there hope? The laws may soon be on your side. Until then, think twice before you whip out a card.

Senators Question "Pro-Business" Supreme Court Rulings
The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday questioned a series of Supreme Court decisions that Democrats on the panel said were unfair to workers and individual citizens who were damaged by big business. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., faulted the court for slashing the punitive damages awarded against Exxon for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He also spoke out against decisions upholding provisions requiring debtors to submit to mandatory binding arbitration and a ruling that barring investors and pension funds from suing accounting firms that "facilitated fraud" in cases like the Enron collapse. When the court upheld contracts requiring credit card holders to submit to arbitration of disputes, Bartholet said the court forced them into a system rigged in favor of the corporations who select and pay for the arbitration process.  She said that even though she ruled in favor of credit card companies virtually all of the time when she worked as an arbitrator for the National Arbitration Forum, she was blacklisted after a single case in which she ruled for a consumer who had filed a counterclaim against his creditor.

Proposed Legislation Aims to Curb Mandatory Clauses in Contracts
The ongoing Democratic-led battle against the rise of mandatory arbitration agreements has gained momentum in the last week despite the efforts of business groups to defend their use.  Last week, the House of Representatives' Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law approved three arbitration-related bills, including one - the Arbitration Fairness Act - that would ban pre-dispute mandatory arbitration outright. The other two bills would ban such agreements in contracts dealing with nursing homes and automobile sales. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is due to consider its own legislation concerning nursing home arbitration, will hear testimony later this week from a former arbitrator who is now a bitter critic of the system.

Public Citizen: BMA, Arbitration, credit cards - Spread the Word to Protect Others!
Binding mandatory arbitration essentially privatizes the judicial process. By signing your name on the dotted line, you forfeit your right to a trial by jury. Just consider: If someone steals your identity to buy a $4,000 plasma TV and the credit card company want you to pay for it, the dispute completely bypasses the courtroom and goes straight to a for-profit arbitrator. But, there is something you can do about this! Use the Public Citizen form to personalize a letter to insist that your members of Congress support legislation to ban the use of pre-dispute binding mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer and employment contracts. Go to Public Citizen to do you part...

House Judiciary Subcommittee - 3 Arbitration bills voted out of Committee
Update on the mark-up that occurred this afternoon before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.  All three bills passed!!! The hearing began with Chairwoman Sanchez introducing the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act... Next up was the Auto Arbitration Fairness Act, H.R. 5312...Lastly, Congressman Johnson introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act, H.R. 3010... 5 - 4. Yes votes were Watt, Delahunt, Johnson, Sanchez, and Cohen. Although Congresswoman Lofgren was not present at the time, she previously stated she would support the bill. No votes were Jordan, Cannon, Keller and Feeny.

Congress Considering Legislation to Ban Arbitration Clauses
The House Judiciary Committee is set to move as early as July 16 on the Arbitration Fairness Act, a bill reported out of the panel's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. Sponsored by Rep. Henry C. Johnson, D-Ga., H.R. 3010 would make significant changes to the 83-year-old Federal Arbitration Act. The measure bans predispute arbitration agreements from being enforced in employment, consumer and franchise disputes, as well as any disputes arising under civil rights law or under laws intended to "regulate contracts or transactions between parties of unequal bargaining power." If passed, the law also would leave determinations on the enforceability of arbitration agreements to federal courts, rather than private arbitrators.

Credit card industry
Lawmakers are targeting some of the most common complaints of consumers in legislation that could come up for a vote before Congress adjourns in September. A third piece of legislation before both chambers, the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, singles out the mandatory binding arbitration clause in credit card agreements, which prevents cardholders from going to court if they believe they have been wronged. The bill would allow them the right to a trial. Consumers have to act responsibly in using their cards, but deceptive and unfair industry practices can add to the burden. Washington appears willing to help consumers with more regulation.

Banks vs. Consumers (Guess Who Wins)
The National Arbitration Forum (NAF), a for-profit company based in Minneapolis, specializes in resolving claims by banks, credit-card companies, and major retailers that contend consumers owe them money. Often without knowing it, individuals agree in the fine print of their credit-card applications to arbitrate any disputes over bills rather than have the cases go to court. What consumers also don't know is that NAF, which dominates credit-card arbitration, operates a system in which it is exceedingly difficult for individuals to prevail.

FROM THE HILL: It’s so important to protect our right to a day in court
When students learn about our system of justice in civics class, they’re told that every American has a right to his or her day in court. Yet, people from all walks of life often unknowingly sign away their right to a trial when they sign a contract...Sometimes consumers only find out they’ve given up their right to trial when a big company forces them to take a dispute to a private arbitration company instead of going through the court system. Arbitration has some serious downsides for consumers, including high administrative fees. It also lacks discovery proceedings and other due process protections, and meaningful judicial review of arbitrators’ decisions...Arbitration should be a choice, not a mandate...Across every sector of our economy, Americans are being strong-armed into this consumer-unfriendly system.

The Magazine of the National Association of Home Builders
Parallel Universe
The worldview of Home Builders versus that of the people who post negative web sites about them is so different that some might wonder whether the two groups live on the same planet.
The negative Web postings depict builders as unscrupulous businesspeople who market shoddy, hastily built products and force people into binding arbitration agreements that forfeit the legal rights of home buyers.

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