Consumer rights are on the line as the Supreme Court decides to take up mandatory binding arbitration clauses once again. Last time, in 2011’s AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion decision, the Supreme Court held that corporations can effectively ban class actions—both
The Wall Street Journal: Big Companies Are the Victim Because Consumers Want to Enforce their Rights.
May 09, 2012
by Amy Keller, Associate
The Wall Street Journal’s May 4 Opinion page brought me some pause. Not for its crafty wordplay (indeed, the “plaintiffs lobby” was a pretty clever way to portray plaintiffs’ attorneys some kind of back-room, self-interested, policy-buying dealmakers, and somehow the
Bifurcated Discovery in Class Actions: Two Reasons Why it Doesn’t Work
October 19, 2011
by Amy Keller, Associate
A common weapon in class action defendants’ arsenals is the motion to “bifurcate” discovery, splitting the process into two phases: first, discovery as it relates to the elements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and whether a class may
Hope Springs Eternal: Senators Franken and Blumenthal and Representative Johnson Combat AT&T v. Concepcion
May 20, 2011
by Amy Keller, Associate
Shortly after Supreme Court ruling in AT&T v. Concepcion was released, many consumer advocate attorneys (and even professors) claimed that the ruling was “the end of class action litigation.” While some groups have already come forward in attempting to distinguish
Big Black Boxes and Iced Cakes: When Aesthetics Become Vague and Landmarks are Saved
January 11, 2011
by Amy Keller, Associate
Not too long ago, my good friend Jeff told me a story about how he was on a Chicago architectural boat cruise in the summer months. The narrator of the cruise, an energetic student in his twenties, was commenting about
