Quickly: There are plenty of laws that are vague. The lower courts do their thing, the Supreme Court does its. And Congress is free to come up with future clarifying legislation.
**
Can’t we step back and see the entire elephant? **
If you only touch the trunk, the elephant is snake-like. Only touch the tail and it’s more like rope.
This issue is about both using public money to support a company that acts illegally and violates American standards of justice. How can this be a bad idea?
It’s also about preventing binding arbitration from being abused for the same reasons. We’re all for being fair to everyone, right?
Some of us have a hunch Big Business’ lusty penchant for binding arbitration because it has it’s hairy thumb on the Scales of Justice.
Maybe if the heady and aloof enterprises didn’t hide the arbitration clause in the nano-print, we wouldn’t think they’re pulling something untorid on those of who don’t have a legal education or a stable of thorough-bred lawsters.
But too often you get articles like this:
LOS ANGELES, March 17 /U.S. Newswire/ – The son of a Kaiser Permanente patient who died under Kaiser’s care filed final papers with the court today in a groundbreaking suit which requires Kaiser to disclose to patients that its arbitration provisions may be unenforceable. Kaiser routinely funnels aggrieved patients and survivors into binding arbitration and denies them access to the courtroom. Chant Yedalian’s case, brought under the unfair business competition law and finalized today, restricts the ability of the HMO to continue forcing arbitration on patients as a way to limit their liability.
Yedalian went to law school following his mother’s death to find a way to prevent others from suffering as his mother did. [She died from breast cancer after Kaiser denied her a bone marrow transplant that could have saved her life.] Now, Kaiser has contributed $100,000 to a ballot initiative which would gut the unfair business competition law, which Yedalian used to force Kaiser’s disclosure.
“Kaiser broke California law by forcing patients into secret arbitration proceedings without fully and properly disclosing that they had given up their rights. Today’s filing closes the door on the HMO’s illegal actions. The unfair business competition law was the only tool I had to hold Kaiser accountable for its deception. With today’s resolution of the case, Kaiser should take back the donation it made to the anti- patient initiative and stop its efforts to restrict patients’ rights,” said Yedalian.
Mandatory arbitration is a private proceeding in which there is no public record or judicial appeal, and arbitrators are often biased in favor of the HMO. Kaiser failed to follow state law requiring the HMO to disclose to enrollees that they were giving up their right to go to court in case of a dispute. Because of this failure, a court found that the HMO’s arbitration provision was not enforceable. …
BA is dangerous and regularly abused:
Halliburton proves for you that binding arbitration is unfair corrupt and one sided
Bankrate.com (Neutral?)
BA is good and necessary:
Conservative Thoughts and Profundity, “The Truth About the Franken Amendment” (On the webpage Mr. Moto provided earlier or linked thereon.)