On July 10, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) dropped the other shoe and issued final rules prohibiting “providers of consumer financial products and services in the core consumer financial markets of lending money, storing money, and moving or exchanging money” from “using a pre-dispute arbitration agreement to block consumer class actions in court.” The final rules also require covered providers to insert language “reflecting this limitation” in contracts with pre-suit arbitration clauses. Completing the trifecta, the new rules require “providers that use pre-dispute arbitration agreements to submit certain records relating to arbitral and court proceedings to the Bureau,” which will use the information to monitor use of arbitration clauses regarding “whether there are developments that raise consumer protection concerns that may warrant further Bureau action.” The CFPB also intends to create a website providing “greater transparency into the arbitration of consumer disputes.”
Continue Reading The Sound of Shoes Dropping: CFPB Moves to Bar Class Action Waivers
Thomas B. Alleman
A veteran courtroom lawyer and "well regarded litigator" (Chambers USA 2017), Tom Alleman is at home in trial and appellate courts throughout the United States. His practice focuses on litigation, commercial insurance coverage questions ranging from cyberliability and data breach questions to environmental and D&O issues, regulatory proceedings and advice involving complex environmental and toxic tort issues, and legal challenges facing financial institutions. His extensive experience enables him to step in on short notice when necessary to assist clients in resolving problems or trying cases.
Mr. Alleman is the Director of Dykema's Insurance Industry Group.