State Attorneys General Issue Letter in Support of CFPB's Proposed Arbitration Rule

CFPB Arbitration State Attorney General

On August 12, Massachusetts AG Healey, alongside 17 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to CFPB Director Cordray in support of the agency’s proposed rule seeking to impose restrictions on the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses by covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services. Although the letter supports the CFPB’s proposed rule, it encourages the CFPB to consider regulations that would prohibit such clauses outright. According to the letter, class action litigation would provide consumers with “real and meaningful benefits,” such as monetary and injunctive relief through settlements, and may further spur industry-wide reforms as well as regulatory and legislative action. The letter further supports the CFPB’s “effort to increase transparency in the arbitration process by requiring covered entities to submit initial claim filings and written awards in arbitration proceedings to the Bureau,” and encourages the agency to (i) publish the information publicly on its website; (ii) enforce timing obligations for reporting the information; and (iii) establish strict penalties, including fines and loss of arbitration privileges, against entities that do not comply with the reporting requirements.