Blog

This week, we celebrate 20 years of protection and opportunities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act, known as the ADA. On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law, which makes it more possible for Americans with disabilities to meaningfully participate in our society […]

This month, President Obama signed into law the most important financial and consumer protection law in years as part of Congress’s Wall Street reform legislation. The Wall Street reform legislation contains many provisions designed to prevent future taxpayer-funded bailouts and curb unfair tactics banks perpetrate on consumers. Important aspects of […]

In an opinion issued April 27, 2010, the United States Supreme Court held that arbitrators could not allow class arbitration where an arbitration clause is silent as to whether class arbitration is permitted. The decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. Animalfeeds Int’l Corp. is a significant blow to consumers and class […]

Two Countrywide mortgage servicing companies have agreed to pay $108 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges that they collected excessive fees from homeowners whose loans Countrywide serviced. The $108 million settlement represents one of the largest judgments imposed in an FTC case. The funds will be used to […]

The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case in which the issue to be decided is whether companies may permissibly ban class actions in their “take-it-or-leave-it” contracts. The case is AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, and it will be heard at the Supreme Court later this year. The […]

The colossal environmental disaster brewing in the Gulf of Mexico has eclipsed another tragic story related to April 20, 2010, BP oil rig explosion: the rig workers. The survivors and families of the 11 workers who were killed are now finding out that their recovery is limited by federal law […]

Countrywide Financial Corp., a mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America, has agreed to a $624 million settlement of a lawsuit which accused the lender of misleading investors about its lending practices. The class action lawsuit was led by several pension funds. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that Countrywide […]

On April 26, 2010, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case addressing whether an arbitrator has authority to determine whether an arbitration clause is unenforceable due to unconscionability. The case, Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson, has far-reaching implications because it has been traditionally held that courts, […]

In an Opinion issued April 27, 2010, the United States Supreme Court held that arbitrators could not allow class arbitration where an arbitration clause is silent as to whether class arbitration is permitted. The decision in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. Animalfeeds Int’l Corp. is a significant blow to consumers and class […]

After the Exxon Valdez oil spill created long-term ecological and economic damage to the Prince William Sound area of Alaska in 1989, the oil industry persuaded the U.S. Congress to give it a $75 million liability cap for damages for future oil spills. You can read an overview of this […]