Corporations want a get-out-of-jail-free card for cheating small businesses and individuals

Washington, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case that could provide corporations with unfettered power to evade federal laws by keeping small businesses and individuals out of the courts and forced into a rigged arbitration process.  In the case, American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, SCOTUS will decide if corporations can force arbitration on small businesses and individuals, even when it can be shown that the cost of forced arbitration would make justice unattainable.

Forced arbitration occurs when corporations insert a clause into the fine print of contracts stating that all disputes must be resolved on an individual basis in a private system designed by the very corporation the claim is against.

“Corporations use forced arbitration clauses to stack the deck against small businesses and individuals by eliminating access to justice,” said American Association for Justice (AAJ) President Mary Alice McLarty.  “They should not be allowed to get away with bullying and cheating small businesses by manipulating the fine print of non-negotiable contracts.”

In this case, a decision favoring forced arbitration over small businesses could wipe out hope for any access to justice and allow corporations to get away with widespread wrongdoing by eliminating statutory rights with the fine print.  Laws at risk include provisions of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Pay Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Credit Repair Organizations Act, the Sherman Act, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the civil provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

“It is imperative that Congress and federal agencies act to protect American consumers and small businesses,” commented McLarty.  “Unless they step in, corporations will be able to get away with widespread wrongdoing and erase all legislative progress made to protect consumers, employees, and small businesses.”

This case falls on the heels of CompuCredit v. Greenwood and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion – two of the latest barriers preventing Americans from receiving justice and holding powerful interests accountable.

AAJ joined in filing an amicus brief in support of the small businesses with Public Justice and AARP.  This brief can be found online here.

 

Background

• In this case, small businesses are seeking to hold AmEx accountable for violating federal antitrust laws.
• The small businesses allege that AmEx is violating antitrust laws with a tying arrangement by using its monopoly power over charge cards to force merchants to take all AmEx-branded credit cards and pay higher fees.
• AmEx’s merchant contracts require individual forced arbitration to resolve disputes.  AmEx’s arbitration clauses also do not allow merchants to shift or share the expenses of arbitrating a claim with other merchants.
• The small businesses presented ample evidence to the court to show that the costs of an individual arbitration would have been many times more than the possible maximum amount of damages that each would recover.  The costs of a single antitrust market study necessary for each arbitration claim could exceed $1 million, while each claimant’s potential damages would be no more than a few thousand dollars.
• If  small businesses are forced to try to resolve this dispute in individual arbitration, they will not be able to effectively vindicate their rights and AmEx will be allowed to get away with widespread wrongdoing.

 

For more information on forced arbitration, visit www.takejusticeback.com/thefineprint.  This release can be found online here: http://ow.ly/i4UWl.

 

An injury to you or a love one can be devastating. Injuries kill, they hurt, they make you incur medical expenses, they make you unable to work, they make you unable to do the normal things you used to take for granted. Depending on the injury, you may need medical care, psychological care, help in performing the daily tasks of life. All of these things cost money. Unfortunately, these things cost money that the vast majority of us simply do not have.

If you are injured because of someone else’s or a corporation’s negligence, carelessness or recklessness, you may be entitled to money to compensate you for the harm that was caused to you. It takes a skilled lawyer to assess your situation, determine what happened and who was at fault, and successfully gather the evidence and present your claim. At the Dyller Law Firm, we can help. We will meet with you, take our time with you, and learn about you and what happened to you. We have the litigation and trial skills to help you obtain the compensation you need and deserve.

Injury claims come in all types. There are auto and truck accidents. There is negligence which creates a hazardous condition which could cause you to fall and break a bone, tear a ligament or suffer some other injury. There are faulty products which cause injury. There are an infinite number of ways to get injured. If some other person or company is responsible for your injury, you should be compensated.

Call the Dyller Law Firm for a free consultation on your injury claim. We will not accept a fee unless we obtain compensation for you.

The police are sometimes permitted to use force. The police are never permitted to use unreasonable force or excessive force. When the police use more force than is reasonably necessary under the circumstances, they violate a person’s constitutional rights. These cases are sometimes called police brutality cases or excessive force cases. The Dyller Law Firm has brought many police brutality or excessive force cases against local municipal police, against state police, and against the supervisors of police who engage in police brutality or excessive force.

The term “police brutality” is not always a useful one, because it sometimes makes people think that a police beating must be severe in order to be illegal. This is absolutely wrong. The police are not permitted to use more force than is reasonably necessary under the circumstances. If no force is necessary, then no force is permitted. If no force is necessary, then any force is “excessive” and “unreasonable.”

The Dyller Law Firm has substantial experience bringing excessive force or “police brutality” lawsuits against police who abuse their power. The Dyller Law Firm is nationally known to engage in this type of federal lawsuit. The Dyller Law Firm is the only law firm in Northeastern Pennsylvania to regularly bring excessive force or police brutality lawsuits.

If you believe the police abused their power by using unreasonable force (more force than was reasonably necessary under the circumstances) against you or a loved one, call Barry Dyller of the Dyller Law Firm. We will analyze your case, without any cost to you, and determine if you have a valid excessive force or police brutality case.

The Dyller Law Firm is the premier civil rights law firm in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and one of the top civil rights law firms in the country. What does that mean? What exactly are the civil rights of United States citizens?