FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carter Dougherty
carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org
202-466-1885

Today, the House passed legislation to effectively kill class action lawsuits, which are often consumers’ only chance to fight back against repeated corporate fraud and scams, including by predatory lenders and big Wall Street banks.

​The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s arbitration study found that class action lawsuits return over $500 million directly to defrauded consumers every year. ​”If this bill becomes law, those ill-gotten gains will instead be used to pad Wall Street’s bottom line,” said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform. ​”By making it nearly impossible for consumers to join together in court, H.R. 985 gives banks and lenders a license to steal and encourages more scandals like Wells Fargo’s fake account opening.”​