General Mills now requires disputes to be resolved through binding arbitration

[twinturbo]

Electronic Frontier Foundation. bleh reads gizmodo so he probably knows without further context.

[Macabre]

Ah, that I know.

[LinksEtc]

"Some Thoughts On General Mills' Move To Mandate Arbitration And Waive Class Actions"
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2014/04/some-thoughts-on-general-mills-move-to-mandate-arbitration-and-waive-class-actions.htm

It's hard to see how class action waivers benefit consumers directly. After all, individual customers' lawsuits against consumer packaged goods companies are rarely financially tenable, so either lawsuits are brought on a class basis or not at all.

[LinksEtc]

"How the Supreme Court made it harder for you to sue"
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/general-mills-facebook-legal-rights

So, to use an example given by the Times: if you were allergic to an ingredient in a General Mills product that was mislabeled – too bad, you've already given up your right to sue, no matter how dire the consequences.

----------------------



"Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/business/dealbook/arbitration-everywhere-stacking-the-deck-of-justice.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

"This is among the most profound shifts in our legal history," William G. Young, a federal judge in Boston who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, said in an interview. "Ominously, business has a good chance of opting out of the legal system altogether and misbehaving without reproach."

[twinturbo]

Caveat emptor now that they've Trojan Horse'd their electronic coupons, etc. Not that I think something this wide swathed will protect them as much as they think but the additional cost of wading through the class action waiver crap is prohibitive. For the sake of giggles and grins say I use a code then feed it to someone else who is harmed and sants to sue. I don't see any passalong possibility. Sort if like DRM if you buy a book, song. There's no passalong, bequeathing.

[LinksEtc]

General Mills owns your emails "throughout the Universe"
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/general-mills-owns-your-emails-throughout-the-universe-041814.html

Throughout the Universe, with a capital "U"!

---------

You know, I really appreciate that GM voluntarily labels for sesame and a few other non-big8 allergens.  Truly, I do.  That has meant so much over the years to our family ... helping to keep dd safe, going that extra step.  The goodwill earned from that is not lost.

This kind of thing, though, just doesn't feel right.

[twinturbo]

It's a big company. One department could be running without much input from another. It's not hard to reason the Calfornia class action on something well within current regulations got legal all worked up on how to disseminate proactive protection from similar class actions. Their policy on labeling for allergens wouldn't need any alterations. We just can't form litigation blocs if we accept their offered benefit (coupon) that comes with implied consent to waive the ability to join a class action. Or at least so the theory goes. I would not be surprised if electronic rights groups and/or consumer protection groups get involved.

Right now all GM has is untested interpretation. It's not like they enacted new legislation.

[SilverLining]

http://mashable.com/2014/04/20/general-mills-facebook/

General Mills Backtracks on Legal Policy After Angering Facebook Users

[bleh]

^
Well that was quick.