A Motion to Compel Changes to Federal Arbitration Law: How to Remedy the Abuses Consumers Face When Arbitrating Disputes

Abstract

Arbitration, as a form of alternative dispute resolution, is a favored method of settling legal disputes because it resolves disputes faster and more cost effectively than in-court litigation. Corporations often exploit the private nature of arbitration by including complex provisions in consumer contracts that require certain disputes to be resolved through arbitration. Consumers subject to these arbitration provisions often do not realize the existence of the provisions, and do not understand that because of undue corporate influence over arbitrators, arbitration tends to favor the corporations against which they arbitrate. Unfortunately, because the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) preempts states’ ability to declare forced arbitration agreements unconscionable, consumers struggle to challenge unfavorable arbitration awards. To remedy the abuses consumers face in the arbitration arena, this Note argues that Congress should amend the FAA to allow states to declare forced arbitration agreements unconscionable.