Mass arbitration attack could bring Intuit to its knees

Justice for the millions ripped off by Turbotax’s “Free File” fraud.

Ever hear of “binding arbitration?” That’s a clause in a contract that says that you aren’t allowed to sue the company you’re doing business with, even if they cheat, maim or kill you. It was invented to let giant companies of equal size and power agree in advance not to spend billions and decades in court to resolve contractual disputes.

Then, Federalist Society judges led by Antonin Scalia set about clearing the way for arbitration to be crammed down everyday folks’ throats by powerful businesses. Today, it’s primarily used by doctors, mechanics, publishers, after school programs, ski resorts, fast food restaurants, gig/app work companies and tech companies of all kinds to strip the people who buy from them or work with them of the rights that Congress gave them, all at the stroke of a pen.

The advent of non-negotiable contracts with binding arbitration clauses makes a mockery of the law, and of the very idea of contracts. These clauses are a (literal) get out of jail free card for businesses that abuse the people who interact with them. They have multiplied like cancer, and today, they’re everywhere.