On July 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the final version of its arbitration rule banning consumer financial services providers from enforcing federal or state court class-action waivers in pre-dispute arbitration agreements. The rule — which takes effect Sept. 19 and with which compliance will be required in March 2018 — does not prohibit class arbitrations outside the court system, or individual arbitrations.
Providers using pre-dispute arbitration agreements will, after the compliance date, have to report information about arbitrations to the CFPB. The information that will need to be reported includes the initial claim and any counterclaims and the answers thereto; the agreement under which the arbitration is being invoked; the judgment or award issued by the arbitrator; and information regarding a provider’s failure to pay required filing fees.
