Law360 Quotes James Tysse on General Mills’ Revocation of Customer Arbitration Policy
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Akin Gump litigation counsel James Tysse was quoted by Law360 for its article “General Mills' Arbitration Flop Felt Across Food Industry” on the food conglomerate’s decision to revoke an arbitration policy that seemed to bind into arbitration agreements visitors who engaged it online via its website and Facebook page.
Among the challenges to this and other corporate attempts to engage customers in arbitration agreements, the article notes, is the practical consideration that not all those who might litigate against a company would have agreed to the arbitration clause.
Tysse said, “If the arbitration agreement is separate from the transaction giving rise to a class action lawsuit, it will be difficult to enforce the provision classwide because some potential class members may not have agreed to arbitrate. These arbitration provisions are thus unlikely to help food companies avoid a class action suit altogether, although they could help limit the size of the class.”
