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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 […]

The North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper recently revealed the number of consumer complaints filed with his office in 2009 and also identified the top 10 consumer complaints for the year. In 2009, 22,665 consumers filed complaints with the Consumer Protection Division of North Carolina Department of Justice. The largest […]

European Drug Company AstraZeneca had its wrist slapped this week by the Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA’). The FDA fined AstraZeneca for illegally promoting the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel and for illegally paying doctors to prescribe the drug. Seroquel has been the best-selling anti-psychotic drug on the market since it was […]

A new study published in an international medical journal confirms that laboring mothers who receive sub-standard medical care are three times more likely to have babies who have suffered an inadequate supply of oxygen, a cause of brain injury. The study found that if there was sub-standard care during the […]

Late last week, the Federal Reserve Board issued its proposed regulations (to be codified as Regulation Z) governing the final sections of the CARD Act, which will go into effect August 22, 2010. Though the proposed regulations would significantly limit lenders’ imposition of penalty fees and would require periodic evaluation […]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest lobby group in Washington and a trade group for corporations, releases its ‘lawsuit climate rankings’ every year. The Chamber’s rankings are not based on objectively verifiable information, but rather on the ‘impressions’ of corporate lawyers. There is no input from judges, injured people, […]

Last week, the Supreme Court of Georgia declared that a recently-enacted state law capping noneconomic damages violated the right to jury trial bestowed by the Georgia Constitution. The Atlanta Journal Constitution covered the decision in this article called, ‘State high court overturns state’s tort reform’. In 2005, the Georgia legislature […]

Today Anthony Tarricone, President of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), penned an article addressing the hypocrisy of tort reform opponents only too eager to file lawsuits when it fits their personal and political agendas. These tort reform advocates seek to deny the average American’s right to seek full justice […]