Letter to the Times on Consumer Class Actions

The Times recently published my letter to the editor.

Class-Action Lawsuits

To the Editor:

Re "The Arbitration War" (editorial, Nov. 27):

The legal issues before the Supreme Court in AT&T v. Concepcion may seem complex, but what's really at stake is the ability of people to band together and challenge fraud, discrimination and other wrongful practices.

AT&T wants the court to allow corporations to ban class actions through their contracts with consumers and employees. As your editorial correctly explains, AT&T is asking the court to second-guess state contract law, which protects the state's residents from such overreaching.

Although not without abuses, class actions have become an essential tool for resolving the common legal grievances of large groups of people. Brown v. Board of Education was a class action. The fate of class actions should be decided by our elected representatives, not by private legislation tucked into the fine print of take-it-or-leave-it contracts.

Deepak Gupta

Washington, Nov. 29, 2010

The writer, a lawyer with the advocacy group Public Citizen, recently argued on behalf of the consumers before the Supreme Court in AT&T v. Concepcion.

Comments

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I think this is a really bad idea and will cause every consumer contract to prohibit participation in a class action. While businesses may feel that this is necessary to keep costs low, what incentive will they have to behave properly if they can essentially make their actions litigation proof. Many smaller claims will not be able to be addressed as no one will be willing to defend those who are injured by the actions of larger corporations.

David Goldman
Apple Law Firm PLLC
3733 University Blvd West, Suite 212B
Jacksonville, FL 32217

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