FOURTH CIRCUIT CONFIRMS AWARD CERTIFYING NATIONWIDE CLASS ARBITRATION OF CLAIMS ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF STATE CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed an arbitration award certifying a nationwide class of plaintiffs alleging violations of Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act. The underlying dispute concerns a debt management program run by defendants. The arbitrator held that Maryland’s consumer protection law could be applied to a nationwide class of plaintiffs based on a choice of law provision in the parties’ debt management agreements. The arbitrator reached this conclusion notwithstanding that no plaintiff resided in Maryland and the Maryland consumer protection law extends only to Maryland residents. The district court confirmed the award. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that the arbitrator did not exceed his powers in construing the choice of law provision in the parties’ contracts to determine that the Maryland consumer protection law applied. The court also held that the arbitrator did not manifestly disregard the law in finding that the Maryland residency requirement did not apply based on the language of the choice of law provision in the parties’ contracts. Amerix Corp. v. Jones, No. 09-2174 (4th Cir. Dec. 9, 2011).
This post written by Ben Seessel.
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