"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
-- Proverbs 29:18, King James Bible (KJV)

Friday, February 05, 2016

Legal Rights, Consumers, Courts of Law and Forced Arbitration in the Focus of a Newly Introduced Bill in Congress

Arbitration can be an excellent dispute settlement option if parties agree after the arising of a dispute to opt for that solution.

The 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, however, has more or less been interpreted by U.S. Supreme Court decisions to bind contracting parties to arbitration if their contract contains a binding arbitration clause -- thus closing off suits in courts of law. This "forced" arbitration is spreading in consumer contracts.

Many contracts contain such a clause in the fine print, and there is no arms-length bargaining about it in most cases. Parties are thus stuck to arbitration, even if they do not want to waive a process in a court of law after a dispute has actually arisen subsequent to the signing of the contract.

Chris Morran has the story at the Consumerist in Bill Aims To Restore Consumers’ Legal Rights Stripped Away By Supreme Court Rulings – Consumerist, writing:
"Today [February 4, 2016], Sen. Patrick Leahy from Vermont and Sen. Al Franken from Minnesota announced the Restoring Statutory Rights Act [PDF], states that the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act “did not, and should not have been interpreted to, supplant or nullify the legislatively created rights and remedies which Congress… has granted to the people of the United States for resolving disputes in State and Federal courts.”"
Read the full story here.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Sky Earth Native America -- in Two Volumes
Native American Rock Art Petroglyphs Pictographs
Cave Paintings Earthworks & Mounds
Deciphered as Land Survey & Astronomy by Andis Kaulins

paperbacks in color print
Volume 1, 2nd Edition, 266 pages

ISBN: 1517396816 / 9781517396817
Volume 2, 2nd Edition, 262 pages
ISBN: 1517396832 / 9781517396831

Sky Earth Native America Volume 1-----------Sky Earth Native America Volume 2
by Andis Kaulins J.D. Stanford                                         
by Andis Kaulins J.D. Stanford
(front cover(s))  
 
  ------

(back cover with a photograph of the author and book absract text)