How the Supreme Court's Misconstruction of the FAA Has Affected Consumers

Forthcoming, Loyola Consumer Law Review. Vol 30, 2017

16 Pages Posted: 14 Oct 2017

See all articles by Margaret L. Moses

Margaret L. Moses

Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Date Written: October 13, 2017

Abstract

Neither the drafters of the Federal Arbitration Act nor the Congress that adopted it intended for it to cover consumers or workers or displace state jurisdiction or state substantive law. The FAA was simply intended to provide a means for resolving disputes among commercial entities that might voluntarily choose to forego their rights to have their disputes settled in court, in favor of what they deemed to be a simpler and more efficient means of dispute resolution. That point, which is entirely beyond dispute, has been lost on the Supreme Court. In a series of cases over the past fifty years, the Court, seemingly more concerned with diminishing the size of judicial caseloads or with ensuring certain substantive policy outcomes than with satisfying its obligation to give effect to congressional intent, has made the FAA a cornerstone of its efforts to circumscribe the rights of workers and consumers and nullify the policy choices of state legislators acting within the legitimate sphere of state policy-making. This article explains how this result came about, and how it has trampled consumer rights.

Keywords: Arbitration, Congress, Federal Arbitration Act

JEL Classification: K20

Suggested Citation

Moses, Margaret L., How the Supreme Court's Misconstruction of the FAA Has Affected Consumers (October 13, 2017). Forthcoming, Loyola Consumer Law Review. Vol 30, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3052994

Margaret L. Moses (Contact Author)

Loyola University Chicago School of Law ( email )

25 E. Pearson
Chicago, IL 60611
United States
312-915-6430 (Phone)
847-475-8984 (Fax)

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