Consumer Products & Retail industry team co-chairs Amy Morrisey Turk and R. Trent Taylor addressed this year’s RLC spring members meeting.
Amy Morrisey Turk spoke on the topic “To Arbitrate or Not To Arbitrate… That Is the Question.” Arbitration agreements can undoubtedly reduce class action exposure, but the landscape for constructing them shifts continuously in light of new judicial decisions and risks presented by mass arbitration. The panel discussed cutting edge strategies to strengthen agreements while mitigating risk.
Richmond partner R. Trent Taylor provided an “Update on MMWA Litigation.” About 60 lawsuits have been filed against retailers and manufacturers of consumer products since last summer. The claims against retailers allege violations of the pre-sale availability rule under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (“MMWA”). The pre-sale availability rule generally requires retailers of consumer products to make the product’s warranty text available for examination by prospective buyers.