Why is Binding Mandatory Arbitration a Big Deal?
When you agree to Binding Mandatory Arbitration, you agree to give up your right to sue in court. Instead, you agree that you will bring any claim you may have to a private arbitrator to decide. As a practical matter, this means that instead of paying a filing and other fees of a couple hundred dollars to file a lawsuit, you will be paying fees of thousands of dollars for the arbitration. In arbitration, you don’t just pay to file your claim, you have to pay the arbitrator several hundred dollars an hour for the work he does on your case. This cost difference alone is more than enough reason for you to avoid arbitration clauses wherever possible, but it’s not the worst part of arbitration. Worse than the substantially higher cost is the stacked deck that you will face: Instead of dealing with the rules of civil procedure which have been carefully crafted by judges and legislatures over hundreds of years to ensure fairness for everyone who comes to court, your claim claim will be govern
