Consumerist
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art
Thomas Kinkade, Painter Of Crap, Must Pay $2.1 Million To Former Gallery Owners
Thomas Kinkade calls himself the "Painter of Light," and allegedly uses his "faith" to lure in investors to his gallery business. Now two former gallery owners have won a judgment from Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that forces Kinkade to abide by a 2007 arbitration decision that awarded the former owners $860,000 in damages and more than $1.2 million in attorneys' fees and arbitration expenses. Ouchy. More » -
forced arbitration
Arbitration Fairness Act On "All Things Considered"
The perils of forced arbitration and the need for the Arbitration Fairness Act were recently featured on an NPR piece. The story discusses the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, the former Halliburton employee who was gang raped in Iraq by her coworkers, then was sent to arbitration when she tried to sue her employer. More » -
The House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law is currently holding a hearing on forced arbitration and credit cards, appropriately titled "Federal Arbitration Act: Is the Credit Card Industry Using It To Quash Legal Claims?" Our friends at Public Citizen will be testifying. You can view (or at least listen to) the Real Player stream here.
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employment discrimination
Forced Arbitration: You Can't Sue Us For Discrimination
Besides banning forced arbitration in consumer and franchise contracts, the Arbitration Fairness Act bans mandatory binding arbitration clauses in employment contracts. John's story illustrates why this is necessary, inside. More » -
arbitration
"We Build In Middle Class Neighborhoods Because You Can't Afford To Fight Us"
Meet Michelle. We met Michelle at Arbitration Fairness Day and she told us about being forced into arbitration when she tried to get her poorly constructed home repaired. Now she'd like to share her story with you. More » -
arbitration
Forced Arbitration: You Lose, Now Pay For Our Lunch
Mandatory binding arbitration, which corporations use to dodge accountability for their discrimination, negligence, or harassment, is a caricature of justice that offers no protection to consumers or employees. It's also terrible for small business owners, as one couple found out. More » -
mandatory binding arbitration
Forced Arbitration: As Fair As A Sucker Punch
We at Consumerist really hate mandatory binding arbitration, the faux-legal sucker punch that companies deliver when they screw up and you try to sue, and so should you. We've talked about its evils a lot, but no one can describe this legal abomination as well as the victims themselves, so this week we'll let them speak. More » -
pre-emption
Supreme Court Rules For Injured Consumer In Big Pharma Case
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of Diana Levine in Wyeth v. Levine. Levine, a musician, had her arm amputated when an anti-nausea drug was improperly administered in her artery, and sued the manufacturer for failing to warn of the risks on the drug's label. Wyeth claimed that her case was pre-empted by federal law. More » -
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arbitration
Mandatory Binding Arbitration Isn't Just Bad For Consumers, It's Bad For Small Businesses
Mother Jones has an excellent writeup of Deborah Williams and Richard Welshans, the Maryland couple whose horrific experience with franchising a Coffee Beanery we've covered before. Inside, MoJo breaks down the arbitration award to show just how much more expensive arbitration is than litigation. More » -
arbitration fairness act
The Arbitration Fairness Act Is In The House
The Arbitration Fairness Act, which will ban binding mandatory arbitration clauses from consumer, employment, and franchise contracts, was reintroduced in the House yesterday. More » -
your rights
Mandatory Binding Arbitration: The Worst Choose Your Own Adventure Ever
Mandatory binding arbitration agreements are bad for consumers for so many reasons that, unless you're the victim of one, it's hard to keep track of the various ways you can be screwed. So we've come up with this helpful illustration: a choose-your-own-adventure-styled trip through the arbitration process. More »
4:49 PM on Tue Feb 10 2009
By Alex Chasick
0 views, 76 commentsMost discussed Tiki McTikatron: So if you are handed a paper contract (say from a daycare center) and see this clause, are you more »
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lawsuits
Old Man Sues Ripoff Dealership, Wins $41,679+
Justice has finally been served to the senior citizen who was not only ripped off on his trade-in vehicle (which is, frankly, to be expected), the dealership also got him to hand over his ATM card and just straight up stole $2000 from his bank account. More » -
arbitration
Court Strikes Arbitration Clause In Case Against Nursing Home That Let Resident Freeze To Death
A Michigan court has struck an arbitration clause in a wrongful death case against a nursing home that allegedly allowed one of its senile residents to wander outside and freeze to death. More » -
arbitration
Powerful People Want To Hear Your Arbitration Horror Stories
If you've been screwed by arbitration, our consumer and public interest friends in DC would like to hear your story for something special they're cooking up. Arbitration agreements are clauses inside many contracts between companies and yourself that, in the event of a dispute, prohibit you from suing the company in a court of law. Instead, you have to take your case to a special arbitration firm. Arbitration bills itself as a speedy and fair way to resolve legal disputes, but it's come under heavy fire recently for being heavily weighted in favor of companies. If you've gotten the short end of the stick, send your story to arbitration.stories@gmail.com.
(Photo: Getty)
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att
Washington Upholds ATT Customer's Right To Class Action
In another step towards the impending demise of mandatory binding arbitration, a customer's right to file a class-action lawsuit against AT&T Wireless was upheld by Washington Supreme Court yesterday. More » -
arbitration
Sixth Circuit Overturns Arbitrator Who "Showed A Manifest Disregard Of The Law"
Earlier this week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an arbitration decision in a dispute between Coffee Beanery and a franchisee. The court found that the arbitrator, hired by the American Arbitration Association, "showed a manifest disregard of the law" by siding with Coffee Beanery. More » -
opinion
Let's Face It: Mandatory Binding Arbitration Sucks
A few days ago a "big business" lawyer wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that those mean old people in the government were trying to take away your right to arbitration. How dare they! More » -
arbitration
Mandatory Binding Arbitration Still Sucks
BusinessWeek has published a pretty substantial cover story on arbitration, and why it disadvantages consumers. Consumerist readers will be familiar with many of the story's criticisms: one study finds 99.8% of arbitration cases are decided in the corporation's favor, some arbitration firms market themselves to companies as a sympathetic and partial judge, the arbitration process is intentionally structured to handicap consumers, and more. More »
arbitration
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