San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank (WFC), one of the largest banks in the US, is trying to push its customers to resolve the lawsuits that they are bringing over the opening of unauthorized accounts through private arbitration, instead of in a courtroom, according to legal documents filed Wednesday. The bank asked the US District Court in Utah to order dozens of customers to settle their …
With the 9th Circuit’s late summer anti-class action waiver decision, the circuit split widened over the issue of whether employers can require employees, through an arbitration agreement, to waive their rights to bring class or collective actions against their employer. This issue will almost certainly reach the Supreme Court given the deepening divide and the Court’s …
An African-American man who sued Airbnb over alleged racial discrimination has lost because of the fine print he agreed to when signing up. Gregory Selden, whose complaint prompted the Twitter hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack, contended a Philadelphia host had denied him a room because of his race. Selden filed what he intended as a class-action lawsuit against the San Francisco-based company.
Today in DC District Court, Airbnb successfully blocked a proposed class action alleging racial discrimination on the company’s platform. The lawsuit alleged systematic discrimination by Airbnb hosts, enabled by various design choices made by the company. But after today’s decision, there won’t be a public ruling on the discrimination itself.
A federal appellate court in California has agreed to decide whether consumers can proceed with a class-action lawsuit against AT&T over the company’s data-throttling practices. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Thursday that it would hear the consumers’ appeal of a trial judge’s decision to send the case to arbitration. The legal dispute dates to 2014, when three California …
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has found that Uber’s arbitration agreements with its drivers are legal and binding. The decision partially reversed and partially affirmed a decision made in federal district court. “The panel held that the district court erred in assuming the authority to decide whether the parties’ arbitration agreements were enforceable,” the court …
One major group directly affected by the Wells Fargo scandal- the customers who had fraudulent accounts opened in their names – may have their hands tied. As lawmakers pointed out at congressional …
A class-action lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo last week might be hamstrung at the starting line, legal experts say. Customers who had bank or credit card accounts opened in their name without their knowledge face an uphill battle even getting a court to hear their case because of mandatory arbitration contract clauses that protect banks from class-action suits, consumer advocates say. John …
The leaders of a Congressional subcommittee are urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to include a safe harbor provision in its final set of rules prohibiting arbitration clauses that prevent class action lawsuits. U.S. Reps. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer …
Ninth Circuit Invalidates Class Action Waivers in Mandatory Arbitration Agreements At the end of 2015, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 465, which would have banned mandatory arbitration agreements in the employment setting, including arbitration agreements with class action waivers. As many employers know, including a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement or clause has been a great …