3 ms·

The flip side is it prevents aggregating all damages into a single class claim. If everyone who had a claim actually arbitrated every time, it would be much mo

The flip side is it prevents aggregating all damages into a single class claim. If everyone who had a claim actually arbitrated every time, it would be much more expensive for companies to handle than settling an entire class of claims all at once. The problem is companies know most people will not make a claim if it takes them any significant effort, and if the reward amount won’t be very large.

paulgb 4y ago
It becomes especially awkward when those companies have their bluff called, get an onslaught of arbitration claims, and then try to backpedal into a class action. “We were just using an anti-class action language because we thought that would scare away litigation but now we want it” is not a super compelling story to have to tell a fair judge. This happened to Intuit. Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people /s. https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-otc-intuit/l-a-santa-clara-oppose-proposed-40-million-turbo-tax-class-deal-idUSKBN28C3BH https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-otc-intuit/l-a-sant...
- jrochkind1 4y ago
  That Intuit/TurboTax story is amazing. Story from December 2020, what's happened since then, was the conversion to class action approved?
  - vageli 4y ago
    This news article [0] is more recent. It seems they settled for more than 3x the figure in the original article. They also agreed to injunctive terms, the most noteworthy (to me) being "Bar Intuit from requiring users to re-enter data when they upgrade from a free product and then return to the free product". [0]: https://news.sccgov.org/news-release/santa-clara-county-counsel-announces-141-million-settlement-against-turbotax-maker https://news.sccgov.org/news-release/santa-clara-county-coun...
- saagarjha 4y ago
  Uber too: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/uber-loses-appeal-block-92-million-mass-arbitration-fees-2022-04-18/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/uber-loses-appeal-b...
heretogetout 4y ago
Is there a limit on the amount of time a company can delay arbitration once you file? Is there any sort of "default judgement" mechanism that can be used against companies that drag their feet?

paulgb 4y ago

It becomes especially awkward when those companies have their bluff called, get an onslaught of arbitration claims, and then try to backpedal into a class action. “We were just using an anti-class action language because we thought that would scare away litigation but now we want it” is not a super compelling story to have to tell a fair judge. This happened to Intuit. Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people /s. https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-otc-intuit/l-a-santa-clara-oppose-proposed-40-million-turbo-tax-class-deal-idUSKBN28C3BH https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-otc-intuit/l-a-sant...

jrochkind1 4y ago
That Intuit/TurboTax story is amazing. Story from December 2020, what's happened since then, was the conversion to class action approved?
- vageli 4y ago
  This news article [0] is more recent. It seems they settled for more than 3x the figure in the original article. They also agreed to injunctive terms, the most noteworthy (to me) being "Bar Intuit from requiring users to re-enter data when they upgrade from a free product and then return to the free product". [0]: https://news.sccgov.org/news-release/santa-clara-county-counsel-announces-141-million-settlement-against-turbotax-maker https://news.sccgov.org/news-release/santa-clara-county-coun...
saagarjha 4y ago
Uber too: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/uber-loses-appeal-block-92-million-mass-arbitration-fees-2022-04-18/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/uber-loses-appeal-b...

heretogetout 4y ago

Is there a limit on the amount of time a company can delay arbitration once you file? Is there any sort of "default judgement" mechanism that can be used against companies that drag their feet?