Blog

March 11, 2013 In Blog

Dear Corporations – Learn how to protect yourselves from class actions! Sincerely, the AAA

By Paul Bland, Senior Attorney I want to talk about judges, arbitrators and neutrality. Imagine a federal district court sending a mass e-mail to a whole bunch of plaintiffs’ lawyers. The e-mail says the court will hold a webinar instructing plaintiffs’ attorneys on how they…

March 7, 2013 In Blog

In the battle over class action bans, the latest casualty may be logic

By Leslie Bailey, Staff Attorney As an undergraduate philosophy major, I lived for all things logical. I relished Alfred North Whitehead and wrote essays seeking to prove that propositions about the future are true at the time they are stated. There was something deeply reassuring…

March 3, 2013 In Blog Anti-Bullying

Using litigation to change the culture of bullying

By Adrian Alvarez, Goldberg-Robb Attorney Like so many other gay people, I was bullied in school. Although I didn’t come out until college, people perceived my sexual orientation: I was routinely called “faggot,” punched in the locker room, and generally ostracized. I was even bullied…

March 1, 2013 In Blog

SCOTUS denies payday lender’s request for review

By Amy Radon, Staff Attorney This week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a payday lender’s petition for certiorari in the case of Cash Advance Network v. Felts. The lender, Cash Advance Network, Inc., had petitioned the Court to overturn a decision by the New Mexico…

February 26, 2013 In Blog

Decision in Marx v. General Revenue Corp.

By Leah Nicholls, Kazan-Budd Attorney After Olivea Marx defaulted on student loans, her lender hired a debt collection company called General Revenue to collect on the loan. Marx alleges that she was lied to, harassed and threatened by the company. She sued, saying General Revenue’s…

February 21, 2013 In Blog

Recap of yesterday’s argument in McBurney v. Young

By Leah Nicholls, Kazan-Budd Attorney Yesterday morning, I attended oral argument at the Supreme Court in McBurney v. Young. The case is about whether Virginia can permit only state citizens to access state records under Virginia’s freedom of information law. Under the law, out-of-staters are…

February 18, 2013 In Blog

What does ‘consent’ even mean anymore?

By Paul Bland, Senior Attorney So HERE is an outrage. The case — Spring Lake v. Holloway — was decided early this month by a Florida District Court of Appeal. It involves a 92-year-old woman with a fourth grade education and memory problems. When she was admitted to…

February 12, 2013 In Blog

Excellent ruling for those who care about fighting gender discrimination in the workplace

By Amy Radon, Staff Attorney Some corporations said employment class actions were going to be nearly impossible to bring after the big Wal-Mart case fell through. Not so. Not in the least. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an…

October 22, 2012 In Blog

A consumer reporter who really gets it

By Paul Bland, Senior Attorney This weekend we wrapped up our fall board meetings in Cleveland, the home city of board president Jack Landskroner. While in Cleveland, Jack and I spent some very worthwhile time talking arbitration and consumers’ rights issues with Sheryl Harris, a…

August 24, 2012 In Blog

Positive ruling late last week from New Mexico Supreme Court

By Amy Radon, Goldberg Attorney By now you’ve probably seen the decision that was handed down last week in the Felts case. The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that two Internet payday lenders can’t force our client into arbitration. Andrea Felts, a high school administrator,…