Senate Kills CFPB Rule Prohibiting Class Action Waivers

Today the Senate struck down a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") rule which would have prohibited providers of financial products and services from including class action waivers in their arbitration agreements with consumers. The action is a win for the financial services industry.

Background

Way back in March 2015 we blogged about the CFPB's study of pre-dispute arbitration contracts in connection with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank"). The CFPB's study culminated in a Report to Congress which found that arbitration clauses were ubiquitous in consumer financial products and services agreements, that consumers were not aware and did not understand them and that such clauses were generally detrimental to consumers. Specifically, the CFPB found that the availability of class actions served to deter companies from engaging in potentially illegal activities, consumers tended to get more relief more often in