I noticed lots of companies try to get you to agree settle out of court, but what benefit it is to consumer and why it is allowed since it seems to favor those with more resources?
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Arbitration resolves disagreements between parties of a contract by having a third party determine who is right. It doesn’t involve courts, so there’s no discovery (sharing important internal documents), no transparency, no rule of law.
It’s almost never beneficial to consumers. Companies try to force it because it is, almost always, extremely beneficial to them and only them.
It’s legal because the Supreme Court says it’s legal, pretty much. It’s allowed, in large part, because the US Congress has done almost nothing to stop it. Thankfully, it *has* recently passed some laws that limit arbitration in the really really awful cases (like sexual harassment/assault), but that still leaves the vast majority of forced arbitration clauses functional.
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