Mark J. Levin

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The U.S. Department of Education recently announced final regulations, effective July 1, 2023, designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act.  Among other things, the final regulations prohibit institutions that participate in the Federal Direct Loan program from requiring borrowers to sign mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements or class-action waivers that would be applicable to disputes about Direct Loans. … Continue Reading

A recent Law360 article notes that “a growing number of state court rulings” have invalidated arbitration agreements in online contracts.  As an example of this “trending pushback” by state courts, the article discusses Chilutti v. Uber Technologies, Inc., in which a divided panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court refused to enforce an arbitration agreement contained in Uber’s online terms and conditions. … Continue Reading

In a recent press release, the Pennsylvania Attorney General announced that settlements have been reached with Delaware and Florida lenders who made allegedly usurious loans to Pennsylvania residents.  In apparent support of the settlement, the press release cites the Third Circuit’s decision in TitleMax of Delaware, Inc. v. Weissman, in which an out-of-state lender unsuccessfully sought to enjoin the Pennsylvania Department of Banking from investigating loans made to Pennsylvania residents. … Continue Reading

We recently wrote about a Law 360 report indicating that the CFPB appears unlikely, at least in the near future, to undertake new rulemaking that would regulate the use of consumer arbitration agreements.  The report was based on comments made by CFPB Director Rohit Chopra at a virtual meeting organized by Public Justice. … Continue Reading

According to a report appearing in today’s Law360, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra has indicated that the agency appears unlikely, at least in the near future, to undertake new rulemaking that would regulate the use of consumer arbitration agreements.  The CFPB’s previous rule—which would have forbidden companies from including class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements—was overridden by Congress in 2017 under the Congressional Review Act. … Continue Reading

Recently, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Zirpoli v. Midland Funding, LLC that an arbitrator, not the district court, must decide whether class action claims brought against Midland Funding LLC are subject to arbitration.  The question in Zirpoli was whether a challenge to the legality of an assignment of a loan that is subject to an arbitration agreement challenges the formation of the arbitration agreement itself. … Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced proposed regulations designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act.  Among other things, the proposed regulations would prohibit institutions that participate in the Federal Direct Loan program from requiring borrowers to sign mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements or class-action waivers. … Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court has once again confirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts incompatible state laws that preclude contracting parties from controlling which claims are subject to arbitration.  Ruling in favor of the employer in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, the Court held that the California courts erred in refusing to compel arbitration of an employee’s individual claim under the State’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).… Continue Reading

For the second time in two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a company seeking to compel individual arbitration of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action claims.  In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, the Court held that the plaintiff’s claims were exempt from arbitration under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which exempts from the statute’s ambit “contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.” … Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court today held that waiver of the right to arbitrate does not require a showing that the other party was prejudiced.  The unanimous opinion by Justice Kagan in Morgan v. Sundance reversed the Eighth Circuit, which had held that a party waives the right to arbitrate if it knew of the right, acted inconsistently with that right and prejudiced the other party by its inconsistent actions. … Continue Reading