| | | Board Certified In Personal Injury | 28 Years Experience | (903) 531-9300 | | Dear Subscriber, Forced arbitration is considered by many as a dire and growing threat to our constitutional right to an open and unbiased hearing in court. Yet most Americans have never even heard of it. Take a minute and learn how this issue effects all of us. | | | | 28 Years Experience Trying Personal Injury Cases Counts
After 28 years of handling personal injury cases we've learned that sometimes you have to "just say no" to the insurance company and saddle up and go try the case in front of a jury. We did just that in June of this year in a car wreck case involving some pretty serious injuries. The Defendants' auto liability insurance company made a lowball offer and dug in. We said "NO" and headed to the court house. I guess being hard headed has its advantages because a Smith County jury awarded us more than seven times what the insurance company had offered. It was a good day for the good guy. Continue reading.
| | Businesses Use Loophole to Deny Day in Court  | | Tia was sexually harassed by her boss at Circuit City for months. Her story here. | Injustice, Thy Name Is Forced Arbitration Tia’s employment case against Circuit City was thrown out of court even though her boss sexually harassed her for months, once even exposing his genitals. Javier lost his job when he was deployed overseas despite federal laws protecting employment for members of the Armed services. Alan and other small business owners were told they couldn’t take American Express to court for charging exorbitant exchange rates. Marjorie, Roberta, Richard, Dean, Frances, Beulah, Horace and Mary all suffered terribly and died from nursing home neglect, yet their families were not able to sue the nursing home companies. How could injustices like these be allowed to exist in America where everyone has the right to take wrongdoers to court? It’s called forced arbitration, and you or a loved one may be next to lose your rights. More on this growing scam here. | BY THE NUMBERS / | | 80%
Upheld | Forced arbitration clauses with class-action waivers were upheld in 132 out of 164 federal cases in 2014, preventing Americans from taking on big companies for predatory lending, wage theft and discrimination. | | 3 of 4
Unaware | A 2015 study found that three out of four consumers didn’t know if they were subject to a forced arbitration clause, and less than 7 percent were aware that they were stripped of their right to go to court. | | 30
Million | An estimated 15 to 25 percent of U.S. employers use forced arbitration in employment contracts, which means more than 30 million employees have given up their right to go to court. | | BOOKMARK FAVORITES / |  Companies Make Rules In Secret America Tonight uncovers the pervasive use of forced arbitration clauses in the fine print of just about every product, service or employment contract. View video.  Forced Arbitration “Isn’t Open, Isn’t Fair” Rep. Hank Johnson, a sponsor of the Arbitration Fairness Act, speaks to the House of Representatives about the injustice of mandatory arbitration. View video.  Young Couple Feels Robbed This New York Times video tells how a young couple felt robbed by mandatory arbitration when a used car dealership arbitrarily repossessed their car. View video. | |
