There are more incredible developments on the mandatory binding arbitration front. A consumer protection lawsuit by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has resulted in arbitration behemoth, the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), pulling out of “the business of arbitrating credit card debts and other consumer collection disputes nationwide." According to the Wall Street Journal blog, NAF says that they took this step because it was “being hit with a wave of lawsuits.”
Meanwhile, another arbitration giant, the American Arbitration Association (AAA), recently announced that it too would stop taking part in debt-collection disputes “until some standards or safeguards are established.”
We might also mention that several bills currently making their way through Congress are aimed at doing just that, not the least of which is one we’ve already talked about, the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. And oh yeah—it is also being reported that arbitration industry indiscretions may ultimately lead to “hundreds of thousands” of past awards being set aside.
So eat a cookie, civil justice fans, because mandatory arbitration as we know it may soon be put to bed. Here’s hoping anyway.
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