Our response to Professor Sovern’s article about arbitration opt-outs and so-called “dark patterns” prompted a reply in which he poses two “challenges”: (1) “prove that opt outs benefit consumers by telling us how many consumers opt out,” and (2) “get rid of the deadline [for opting out] and allow … consumers to opt out of arbitration when they know there’s a dispute.”… Continue Reading

For the past decade, Professor Jeff Sovern has criticized companies for including opt out provisions in their consumer arbitration clauses, even though such provisions give consumers freedom of choice by allowing them to reject arbitration without affecting the other contractual terms.  Most recently, he argues that opt out provisions are actually what the FTC calls a “dark pattern”—a practice that “tricks users into making choices they would not otherwise have made and that may cause harm.” … Continue Reading

In a recent blog post, Professor Jeff Sovern contends that the case against consumer arbitration has been bolstered by the fact that a lawyer for the “conservative” Competitive Enterprise Institute made positive remarks about the importance of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial in testifying at a House Financial Services Committee hearing. … Continue Reading