Burton LeBlanc's blog

The civil justice system exposed GM’s decade-long corporate cover-up and as the public and Congress demand full accountability, GM must honor its commitment 'to do the right thing' by fully compensating all victims for their losses and not impeding victims’ access to justice through the courts.

When corporations act irresponsibly and government regulatory agencies fail to protect the public, the last resort for Americans to seek accountability is in our courts. The American civil justice system is in place to enforce safety standards, reveal dangerous defects, and hold corporations accountable when their products kill and injure Americans.

Brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, announced on April 24th that as part of a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (Finra), Charles Schwab would drop a provision in its consumer agreement that eliminated customers' rights.

General Mills announced on April 19, 2014 that it removed a forced arbitration clause in its terms of service. Forced arbitration is an abusive practice where corporations force customers into a dispute mill that is rigged and secretive. The corporations pick the arbitrator and the arbitrator’s decision is final – you have no ability to appeal or ever go to court.

The escalating fallout over the G.M. ignition-switch recall scandal should be a wake-up call to all Americans as to why the civil justice system is essential to ensuring our families are safe from dangerous products.

G.M. knew of the fatal ignition-switch defect as far back as 2004 – the year the first Chevy Cobalt rolled off the lot – and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration learned of the defect in 2007.  But the danger was only exposed in 2013 by a lawsuit brought by a victim’s family. 

Far too often the lives of American families are dangerously impacted by chemicals in our drinking water, children’s toys and consumer products. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) must be reformed to effectively protect the public, but Rep. John Shimkus' (R-IL) draft bill doesn't come close as it eviscerates public health safeguards, preempts state law and grants immunity to the chemical industry.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday on an important issue that affects all Americans.  It is called forced arbitration.

Buried in the fine print of many contracts – from credit card and nursing home contracts to employee handbooks and online user agreements – are dangerous forced arbitration clauses that eliminate access to justice and allow corporations to evade accountability. 

Forced arbitration grants corporations a license to steal and violate the law. 

Forced arbitration clauses are widespread and affect over 80 million credit cardholders in the United States, according to a study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The study also found, on average under 300 forced arbitration disputes are filed by credit card, checking account and loan consumers each year.