At a time when Congress is considering whether to ban mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts, and credit card companies, Minnesota’s Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing the National Arbitration Forum, a lead provider of this clown-court-for-hire scam, for concealing its ties to the debt collection and banking industries. The Lawsuit State of Minnesota v. National Arbitration Forum, No. 27-09-18550, claims “a group of New York hedge funds managed by Accretive LLC in 2006 and 2007 invested in the arbitration company and also acquired a majority stake in a debt collection agency called Axiant LLC.
Arbitration is a nasty little trick that has gone unnoticed by thousands of its victims, says Jacksonville Florida Attorney, Michael E. Seelie. While arbitration clauses are in all 50 states, including Florida, Minnesota has become one of the first battlegrounds among many to bring an end to the abuse of a private judicial system, which undermines the consumer’s right to a day in court.
