March 19, 2021 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Brady Hermann has published an article, “9th Cir. holds anti-joinder and class action waiver provisions did not violate California law,” on Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today.
In the article, Mr. Hermann discusses a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirming an order compelling arbitration despite the California Supreme Court’s ruling in McGill v. Citibank, N.A., “that no one can contractually waive all rights to seek public injunctive relief, and therefore that any contract that bars public injunctive relief in both court and arbitration is invalid.”
The plaintiff claimed that a financial technology company violated California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), False Advertising Law (FAL), and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) by falsely advertising that credit-builder loans contain no hidden fees.
“[T]he Ninth Circuit held that, under the agreement at issue, litigants proceeding in individual lawsuits could request public injunctive relief in arbitration with the defendant. Therefore, the agreement did not violate the McGill rule and was valid and enforceable.”
Brady Hermann is senior counsel in the Boston and New York offices of Maurice Wutscher LLP. He regularly represents financial services companies including banks, broker-dealers, financial advisors, financial asset buyers and third party debt collectors in individual, class action and regulatory matters. He has successfully represented clients throughout the country against claims for violations of securities laws, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and various state consumer protection statutes.