“U.S. Supreme Court Sends Another Blow to Consumers”

Some groups have called them the “Corporate Court” and yesterday was clearly an example of why. Large corporations, such as AT&T, the defendant in the case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, won a substantial victory on the issue of an individual’s right to file class action claims when arbitration is involved. The split court ruled 5-4 that consumers may not band together in class-action arbitration to pursue their complaints. AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion involved cell phones and a familiar contract that requires customers to press claims through arbitration rather than lawsuits. Such ubiquitous contracts, which mandate individual rather than group claims, are becoming standard for companies offering loans, cable service, credit cards and even employment. Now, if a company like AT&T screws you and 10,000 other consumers, you each would have to file a separate, individual arbitration claim. So much for holding crooks accountable.