Massachusetts invalidates contracts requiring arbitration
July 3, 2009
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Feeney v. Dell that contracts barring consumers from filing class-action lawsuits, and instead requiring individual arbitration of cases, are invalid.
"Massachusetts follows at least six other state supreme courts that have issued similar decisions between 2005 and 2008, including California, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina and Washington. The U.S. courts of appeals for the 1st, 2d, 3d and 9th circuits have also weighed in with similar rulings from 2006 to 2009."[1]
The Supreme Judicial Court ruling does not prevent businesses from requiring their customers file individual claims in arbitration instead of in court. But if a business does require arbitration, it must permit customers to seek a class-action case before arbitration.[2]
Footnotes
Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Massachusetts • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Massachusetts
State courts:
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court • Massachusetts Appeals Court • Massachusetts Superior Courts • Massachusetts District Courts • Massachusetts Housing Courts • Massachusetts Juvenile Courts • Massachusetts Land Courts • Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts • Boston Municipal Courts, Massachusetts
State resources:
Courts in Massachusetts • Massachusetts judicial elections • Judicial selection in Massachusetts
