Alan Kaplinsky, who leads Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, has been asked by the CFPB to testify as an industry representative at the CFPB’s May 5 field hearing on arbitration.  We expect the hearing to coincide with the CFPB’s release of a proposed rule on the use of arbitration agreements in certain consumer financial services contracts that would prohibit financial institutions from using arbitration agreements to block consumers from filing class action lawsuits.

The May 5 field hearing will be the fourth field hearing that the CFPB has held about arbitration.  The first hearing was held in Dallas, Texas on December 12, 2013.  Alan testified as an industry representative at the second hearing, which was held on March 10, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey, and at the third hearing, which was held on October 7, 2015 in Denver, Colorado.