Court Grants Final Approval of Settlements Reached with Four Credit Card Companies to Drop Mandatory Arbitration Clauses

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8/3/10

Berger & Montague, P.C., as lead counsel for the cardholder classes inRoss, et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., et al., No. 05-cv-7116 (S.D.N.Y., Pauley, J.), has obtained final approval of the first settlements nation-wide removing arbitration clauses from the so-called “cardholder agreements” for over 100 million credit card holders.  This victory for consumers and small businesses comes after nearly five years of hard-fought litigation, including obtaining a decision by the Court of Appeals reversing the District Court’s order dismissing the case, on claims that the defendant banks unlawfully acted in concert to require cardholders to arbitrate disputes, including debt collections, and to preclude cardholders from participating in any class actions.  The settlements were reached with four of the nation’s largest credit card issuers, Chase, Bank of America, Capital One and HSBC, who have agreed to drop their arbitration clauses and class action bans until at least late 2013.  This achievement will aid consumers and small businesses in their ability to resist unfair and abusive credit card practices.  Berger & Montague continues to litigate this case against card issuer defendants Citibank and Discover, as well as a related case against American Express,Ross, et al. v. American Express Co., et al., No. 04-cv-5723 (S.D.N.Y., Pauley, J.), in the same court.

News Source : Court Grants Final Approval of Settlements Reached with Four Credit Card Companies to Drop Mandatory Arbitration Clauses