Arbitrate-Shun: Congress’s Proposed Attack On Arbitration Clauses

Last week, Senators Al Franken (D-Minn) and Hank Johnson (D-Ga) revived the Arbitration Fairness Act ("Act"), which would ban arbitration provisions in consumer contracts, as well as employment, antitrust, and civil rights cases, and only allow the parties to agree to arbitration after the dispute arises.  The newfound interest in the Act demonstrates renewed opposition to arbitration as an alternative to litigation.

If passed, the Act would have a clear impact on marketers' ability to avoid class actions and limit their liability in contracts with consumers.  Online marketers often implement binding arbitration provisions to reduce their exposure to class action lawsuits brought by consumers.  But the proposed Act would ban those provisions and only allow the parties to agree to arbitration after the dispute arises.