Big business, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other anti-justice groups, cheered the US Supreme Court decision in AT&T v. Concepcion. That decision cleared the way for corporations to impose anti-justice mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts for everything from cell phone service, to rental car agreements, airline tickets. Nearly every consumer transaction could be affected by the decision.
As I wrote after the decision was issued:
The AT&T v. Concepcion decision is seen by many as a license to steal for major US corporations. What recourse does one have if a company steals $1.00 from 10 million people? Or $25? Or $50? Or $500?
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The answer, quite plainly, is none. Who then is to uphold justice if corporations can simply contract away accountability and rule of law?
AT&T argued that arbitrations save all parties time and money. But, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
Now the ABA Journal reports that AT&T is trying to unring the bell, filing 8 federal lawsuits seeking to block customer arbitrations that could prevent a potential merger with T-Mobile. If arbitration is more efficient, costs less and is "better" than the civil justice system enacted by our founders and protected under the 7th Amendment, why isn’t AT&T proceeding with arbitration?
[T]he American Arbitration Association has already overruled AT&T’s objections and moved forward with the arbitration process. "AT&T’s filing of these lawsuits appears to be an act of desperation, since AT&T now realizes it faces substantial likelihood that one or more of these arbitrators will stop the takeover from happening," [said a lawyer involved in the case]
— Reuters
The truth: AT&T’s actions say it all. AT&T wants to force its customers to arbitrate because that’s better for AT&T, but AT&T seeks justice, it ignores arbitration agreements and wants access to the courts.
Read More:
- AT&T sues customers who seek to block T-Mobile deal [Terry Baynes at Reuters]
- After Supreme Court Win Forcing Customers to Arbitrate, AT&T Now Sues to Stop the Arbitration [Martha Neil at ABA Journal]
- SCOTUS Hears Arguments In AT&T v. Concepcion Class Action Case [me at IB]
- Round Up: AT&T v. Concepcion [me at IB]
[More on your 7th Amendment rights]
(c) Copyright 2011 Brett A. Emison
Brett Emison is currently a partner at Langdon & Emison, a firm dedicated to helping injured victims across the country from their primary office near Kansas City. Mainly focusing on catastrophic injury and death cases as well as complex mass tort and dangerous drug cases, Mr. Emison often deals with automotive defects, automobile crashes, railroad crossing accidents (train accidents), trucking accidents, dangerous and defective drugs, defective medical devices.
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