Public Justice

December 17, 2013 In Blog

“Unimportant” Case Yet Another Way SCOTUS Taking Away Your Rights

By Matt Wessler, Staff Attorney Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life Insurance Co., a case that has generated less attention than almost any other this term. That’s probably because the case combined two of the least exciting areas of the law—statutes…

December 17, 2013 In Blog

Applebee’s Unappetizing Employment Practices get a Federal Court Apology

By Spencer Wilson, Brayton-Thornton Attorney It is a sad day when the state of the law forces judges to openly apologize for the unfairness of their decisions. But that is exactly what happened last week when a Pennsylvania federal judge refused to let a group…

December 16, 2013 In Blog

Heisman Money Might Stymie FSU’s Title IX-Required Rape Investigation

By Sarah Belton, Cartwright-Baron Attorney A 2013 Heisman trophy win for Jameis Winston was always going to be historic. On Saturday, when 19-year-old Winston received the 79th Heisman trophy, he became the youngest player ever to win the award. But Winston’s win and his ongoing…

December 12, 2013 In Updates

Debt-relief scammers can’t use arbitration clause to avoid victim’s lawsuit, Ninth Circuit affirms

By Sarah Jones, Public Justice Unscrupulous debt-relief companies that did not actually provide any services to their customers cannot use an arbitration clause to prevent their customers from suing in court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held today, affirming the lower…

December 12, 2013 In Blog

CFPB Data Show Companies Use Forced Arbitration to Disable Consumers’ Ability to Vindicate Their Rights

By Amy Radon, Staff Attorney The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this morning released the preliminary results of its two-year study into how forced arbitration clauses impact consumers. The results confirm what consumer advocates have long held to be true given our experience, which is that…

December 10, 2013 In Blog

WAKE UP! CFPB, Congress and Activists to Bring Arbitration Out of Fine Print and Into Spotlight

By Paul Bland, Senior Attorney On Twitter!! @PblandBland One of the biggest reasons that corporations have been so successful in stripping people of important constitutional rights through forced arbitration is that most Americans never read the fine print of their contracts. Americans are largely unaware…

December 7, 2013 In Blog

Gutting Crucial Provision of Federal Labor Law that Protects Workers

By Spencer Wilson, Brayton-Thornton Attorney and Paul Bland, Senior Attorney A few years ago, the National Labor Relations Board issued a landmark decision in a case called D.R. Horton, which found that an employer violated federal labor law by requiring its employees to sign an…

December 6, 2013 In Blog

Heisman Trophy: What’s Title IX Got to Do With It?

By Sarah Belton, Cartwright-Baron Attorney Yesterday, the Florida State Attorney announced that Jameis Winston, the starting Florida State University quarterback, ACC player of the year, and current Heisman trophy candidate won’t face criminal charges for sexual assault. A female FSU student alleged that Winston raped…

December 4, 2013 In Blog

Consumer Supporter? Not so much

By Amy Radon, Staff Attorney Our client, a woman from Santa Clara, CA, found herself in over her head in credit card debt in 2009. To find a way back to financial health, she reached out to American Debt Services to help her pay off…

November 26, 2013 In Blog

What does “consent” to Arbitration Actually Mean?

West Virginia Supreme Court insists upon meaningful consent to arbitration agreement By Paul Bland, Senior Attorney On Twitter! @Pblandbland Too often, courts treat “consent” by consumers or employees to mandatory arbitration clauses as essentially a meaningless formality – so long as some language in some…