Case Updates
North Carolina Supreme Court rules on arbitration provisions and class action waivers
January 25, 2008
The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected NCLC’s contentions that contracts containing arbitration provisions with class action waivers are not unconscionable under North Carolina law.
U.S. Chamber files amicus brief
November 16, 2006
Recommending that the decision of the intermediate appellate court be affirmed, NCLC filed a brief arguing that contracts containing arbitration provisions with class action waivers are not unconscionable under North Carolina law. In this case, though barred by their financing contracts from doing so, plaintiffs filed a putative class action complaint against their mortgagors. Relying on explicit contractual language and rejecting the notion that an arbitration requirement with a class action waiver is unconscionable, the court below dismissed the case and ordered arbitration. In addition to making clear the comparative benefits of arbitration to plaintiffs and defendants, NCLC also argued that upsetting the parties’ bargain impermissibly conflicts with the Federal Arbitration Act and therefore is preempted.