At the end of April 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its crucial decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, which upheld AT&T Inc.’s arbitration program and prevented a class action from moving forward. Since that decision, federal district courts have scrutinized 82 arbitration clauses in would-be consumer class actions, and the majority of the courts have followed the lead set by Concepcion.
Companies that face a large volume of consumer complaints should consider developing a robust arbitration program as a strategy to prevent costly class actions. How will this stop lawyers from filing expensive class action lawsuits whenever anything appears to go wrong? Take a look at the AT&T arbitration agreement that the Supreme Court upheld in its 5-to-4 decision in the Concepcion case.
