Arbitration & Mediation

Plaintiff Bar Focuses on Anti-Arbitration Legislation in 2010

By Christopher B. Hopkins, Esq.

The American Association for Justice, the lobbying organization for plaintiff lawyers, voiced its agenda for 2010 earlier this week, indicating that eradicating arbitration clauses, specifically those in nursing home agreements, will be a primary focus for this year.

Proposed federal legislation to eliminate consumer and nursing home arbitration clauses has been kicking around for some time with little success.

But the calculus for bill passage may have changed in recent months with the enactment of a narrow anti-arbitration law which may have cracked upon a fissure of forthcoming anti-arbitration legislation. H.R. 3326, which prohibits military contractors from using clauses which require arbitration of certain claims in employment contracts, was fueled primarily by a former employee/plaintiff who claimed she was raped -- and that her ability to recover was hampered by a star chamber arbitration panel. Many who watched the bill's progress (including us), predicted that (1) the military contractor bill would pass and (2) it would become a stepping stone of forthcoming bills to broaden the initial success.

Needless to say, that latter "prediction" was not much of a leap, considering this Law.com article ("Next Target for Plaintiff's Bar: Nursing Homes?") indicates that the AAJ has now openly acknowledged its intentions to build upon HR 3326's success. We assume lobbyists will continue the same strategy and attack a specific industry -- nursing homes -- first and then move on to lobbying for even broader consumer anti-arbitration laws thereafter. Probably a good strategy.

Full post as published by Florida Arbitration Law on January 15, 2010 (boomark / email).