WCB files Supreme Court Brief on Behalf of National Association of Consumer Advocates [NACA]

WCB attorney Michael J. Quirk has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, in the important U.S. Supreme Court case, Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson, No. 09-497.  The Jackson case tests the ability of private corporate employers to deprive state courts of the ability to judge whether a mandatory arbitration clause is enforceable.  As NACA's brief points out, a decision against Mr. Jackson -- who prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals -- would effectively eliminate one of the few remaining methods for "protecting consumers against unfair pressure to agree to a contract with an unwanted arbitration provision."

Mr. Quirk was previously the principal author of WCB's amicus brief on behalf of two whistle-blowers in another Supreme Court case,  Wyeth v. Levene (No. 06-1249, decided 3/3/09).

The Court's decision in Levene was a victory for injured consumers, who retained the right to sue pharmaceutical companies for the harm caused by defectively labeled drugs.