Senator Franken and Colleagues Send Letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White to Demand Ban of Forced Arbitration to Protect Investor Rights

See Franken’s Press Release which contains a copy of the letter/signatories and the WSJ report.   

The letter includes these paragraphs:

“If arbitration offers investors an efficient forum to resolve disputes, as some argue, investors may choose that option-but they should be given the choice. It is equally important that investors not be precluded from bringing class actions because of contractual fine print imposed by a mandatory waiver class action clause.

Although evidence suggests that the use of mandatory arbitration agreements is widespread, we are concerned about the lack of transparency and reliable data regarding the prevalence of such agreements. We encourage the Commission to track how many brokerage firms are inserting mandatory arbitration agreements and class action waivers into consumer contracts, so that this questionable practice may be better monitored and addressed.”

We at Fair Contracts agree and have signed on to a similar letter from consumer groups.