Consumer advocate and mandatory arbitration critic Barbara Roper has joined the SEC’s senior staff. What this may mean for FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (“DRS”) remains to be seen. SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced on August 25 that veteran consumer advocate Barbara Roper would be joining the Commission’s senior staff. A Press Release states: “The Commission today announced the appointment of Barbara Roper as…
In what we are certain is a reaction to a flurry of multiple individual arbitrations that relate to the same event, the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) has created Supplementary Rules for Multiple Case Filings (“Supplementary Rules”) effective August 1. We have reported several times on cases holding that companies such as Amazon and Postmates have been compelled to…
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that Uber Technologies Inc. drivers are not engaged in interstate commerce under a nationwide standard and must arbitrate their claims. Capriole. v. Uber Technologies Inc., No. 20-16030 (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2021), involves the issue of whether Uber Technologies Inc. (“Uber”) drivers are engaged in foreign or interstate…
SCOTUS again has eschewed an opportunity to clear up the split over the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) section 1 exemption for workers engaged in commerce, this time by refusing to reconsider its prior Certiorari denial. As reported in SAA 2021-24 (Jun. 24), the Supreme Court on June 21 denied Amazon’s January 29 Petition for Certiorari in Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 19-1848 (1st Cir. Jul….
The SEC has approved an omnibus rule filing strengthening investor protection from at-risk firms and brokers. Addressing unpaid Awards is a major focus. Readers may recall that we reported in SAA 2019-18 (May 8) that FINRA had issued a Regulatory Notice seeking comments on rule changes aimed at better protecting investors from firms with significant…