Consumer Alert: Some Large Banks Remove Right To Jury Trial
In this area of Southeastern Pennsylvania we are well accustomed to our smaller banks being eaten up by ever larger banks and the transitions these moves involve. One of the transitions for which we might not be prepared is that 9 of 10 larger banks have been found in a recent study by Pew Charitable Trusts to have included waivers of jury trial in their agreements. See “9-in-10 Big Banks Strip Customers Of Their Right to Jury Trial,” https://consumerist.com/2016/08-17/9-in-10-big-banks-strip-customers-of-their-right-to-jury-trial/.
What this means is that, if you have a claim against one of these banks, you would no longer have the right to be heard by a jury of your peers. It gets worse. According to this source, 70% of these larger banks have also instituted forced arbitration clauses. It is well known that in many industries, binding arbitration is stacked against the consumer. This is true for several reasons once you learn more about financial litigation; you may consult commercial litigation lawyers for more information. A business litigation attorney can help protect your property rights, a copyright claim, or any of your business interests. For everyone’s safety, an industrial electrical solutions company will examine the area to see if there are any damages that can also be compensated, and an experienced business litigation attorney can also help you if you’re having troubles with commercial litigation, class action, and mass torts practice. First the industry has greater familiarity with individuals who are likely to be chosen as arbitrators. The individual is in a David vs. Goliath situation except that Goliath is likely to be judged by someone coming from the same team or one close by.
Arbitration is not likely to receive the attention that an open Court hearing would have. The proceedings are likely behind closed doors. The parties may enter into confidentiality agreements.
Finally, as Consumerist indicated, arbitration awards tend to be lower than Court awards. Consumers may have difficulty finding and paying for qualified counsel to represent them since the big pockets of the industry have more money and time available to them.
All of these concerns relate to arbitration. However, another and possibly more disturbing factor is that some companies have begun writing into their agreements a stipulation that consumers give up their ability to participate in a class action. Where a group of consumers might bond to challenge an action by a large bank, now, for those banks affected, each person must bring the action on his own. While class actions typically result only in small settlements for the individual consumer, they might at least correct the wrong. Most consumers would not bring a claim on their own unless they are seriously impacted.
In recent days we became aware of some of the kinds of problems consumers might encounter with large banks when it was publicly disclosed that Wells Fargo, one of the largest, agreed to pay a $185 million fine for actions described in Forbes as “Wells Fargo employees <pumping> up their paychecks by opening millions of false accounts in real customer’s names.” http://www.forbes.com. As a footnote, legal action might not be over regarding that scandal yet.
Here is the difference between these types of agreements that deny access to the Court and those commercial agreements to which we have become almost uniformly accustomed.
By now we have come to realize that companies with whom we do business can modify some terms of the agreements. They change service fees, regulatory provisions and service provisions on a regular basis and send a notice, sometimes with the next bill. You can accept or you might move on to another provider.
When it comes to access to the Courts, imagine that every company with which you deal has the right to take away your ability to act when they fail to comply with their own guidelines or when they fail to follow the law and also suppose other large entities do the same. Can some of the larger banks with which we deal, or other providers, restrict access to the Courts to the point that you can no longer rely on information provided or consumer protection that you thought you had. How can you protect yourself? Stay tuned.
About the Author Janet Colliton
Esquire, Colliton Law Associates, P.C. Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 38 years, 37 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.