LD 1218
pg. 38
Page 37 of 94 An Act To Enact the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act Page 39 of 94
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LR 468
Item 1

 
state consumer protection laws), on appeal to Sixth Circuit;
Ramirez v. Circuit City Stores, 90 Cal. Rptr. 2d 916 (Cal. Ct.
App. 1999) (finding arbitration clause in contract of employment
voided as unconscionable, in part, because it would deprive
arbitrator of authority to hear classwide claim), review granted
and opinion superseded, 995 P.2d 137 (Cal. 2000); Powertel v.
Bexley, 743 So. 2d 570 (Fla. Ct. App. 1999) (refusing to enforce
arbitration clause as unconscionable in part because of its
retroactive application to preexisting lawsuit and because one
factor as to its substantive unconscionability was that it
precluded the possibility of classwide relief); Jean R.
Sternlight, As Mandatory Arbitration Meets the Class Action,
Will the Class Action Survive?, 42 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1
(October, 2000); but cf. Johnson v. West Suburban Bank, 225 F.3d
366, (3rd Cir. 2000) (holding that neither the text nor the
legislative history of TILA or the Electronic Funds Transfer Act
("EFTA") indicate an inherent conflict between TILA or EFTA and
the right to arbitrate even though plaintiffs cannot proceed
under the class action provisions of these statutes); Thompson
v. Illinois Title Loans, Inc., 2000 WL 45493 (N.D., Jan. 11,
2000) (same as to TILA claim); Sagal v. First USA Bank, N.A., 69
F.Supp. 2d 627 (D. Del. 1999) (same), on appeal to Third
Circuit; Zawikowski v. Beneficial Nat'l Bank, 1999 WL 35304
(N.D. Ill., Jan. 11, 1999) (same); Randolph v. Green Tree Fin.
Corp., 991 F.Supp. 1410 (M.D. Ala. 1997), rev'd on other
grounds, 178 F.2d 1149 (11th Cir. 1999), cert. granted, 120
S.Ct. 1552 (2000) (same); Lopez v. Plaza Fin. Co., 1996 WL
210073 (N.D. Ill. April 25, 1996) (same); Brown v. Surety
Finance Service, Inc., 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5734 (N.D. Ill.
Mar. 23, 2000) (same); Meyers v. Univest Home Loan, Inc., 1993
WL 307747 (N.D. Cal., Aug. 4, 1993) (holding that claims of
named-plaintiff asserted in class action under TILA and state
consumer protection act must be arbitrated); Howard v. Klynveld
Peat Marwick Goerderler, 977 F.Supp. 654, 665, n.7 (S.D.N.Y.
1997) ("A plaintiff *** who has agreed to arbitrate all claims
arising out of her employment may not avoid arbitration by
pursuing class claims. Such claims must be pursued in non-class
arbitration."); Doctor's Assoc., Inc. v. Hollingsworth, 949
F.Supp. 77, 80-81 (D. Conn. 1996) (holding that class action
contract claims brought by franchisees were subject to
arbitration provision of franchising agreement requiring
individual arbitrations); Erickson v. Painewebber, Inc., 1990 WL
104152 (N.D. Ill., July 13, 1990) (holding that fraud claims of
named-plaintiff asserted in class action must be arbitrated).

 
Even in the absence of express prohibitions on consolidation,
the legitimate expectations of contracting parties may limit
the ability of courts to consolidate arbitration proceedings.
Thus, a number of decisions have recognized the right of
parties opposing consolidation to prove that consolidation
would undermine their stated expectations, especially
regarding arbitrator selection


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