National Arbitration Forum to Cease Administering Consumer Arbitrations: Many Consumer Arbitration Provisions May Need Revision

Originally published July 20, 2009

Keywords: National Arbitration Forum, NAF, consumer arbitrations, civil lawsuit, consumer debts, credit card companies, arbitration proceedings

On July 19, 2009, the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), one of the largest arbitration providers in the United States, announced that by July 25, 2009, it would no longer accept new arbitrations that involve consumers.

The NAF's decision to stop administering consumer arbitration proceedings is part of a settlement of a recently-filed civil lawsuit against the NAF by the Minnesota Attorney General. The lawsuit contended that the NAF failed to disclose that it had financial ties to and was biased towards some law firms specializing in debt collection that had instituted arbitration proceedings against consumers who allegedly owed money to credit card companies. The lawsuit was filed on July 14, 2009—eight days before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government