Supreme Court Limits Class Actions
April 27, 2011, Associated Press

A recent Supreme Court decision limited the ability of individuals to join together in class action lawsuits to fight corporations when they want to dispute contracts for cellphones, cable television and other services.

Businesses often require arbitration clauses in consumer contracts to protect them from lawsuits and prohibit customers from joining class action lawsuits.

Lawyer Jack E. Pace III said the ruling preserves arbitration for consumers.

"Arbitration can be an efficient, low-cost avenue for a consumer to bring a claim against a service provider, but if those claims easily could become sprawling class actions, what business would include an arbitration clause in its contracts?" said Pace, who works for the law firm White & Case.