On the recordOctober 24, 2017
I appreciate my colleague's question. That is absolutely right. Arbitration panels do not have the power to issue injunctions--it is that simple. They do not have the power to grant injunctive relief even in the worst of circumstances. That is one of the reasons forced arbitration clauses exist: There is no danger of a court ordering increased disclosure or fairer terms going forward or an end to deceptive and misleading practices. I see we have been joined by another of our colleagues, Senator Cornyn of Texas, who served as attorney general before he began his distinguished career here, and he knows well that, as attorneys general, we often insisted on injunctive relief because we wanted to protect people going forward. That is a remedy that arbitration panels simply cannot award, and it is enormously consequential.
