S 552 — Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2017

Summary

Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2017 This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to prohibit predispute arbitration agreements with consumers (i.e., agreements to arbitrate any future disputes between parties instead of pursuing the claims in court) from being valid or enforceable in disputes related to credit card accounts or personal bank accounts that are not subject to a final judgment by a court if the credit card or bank account was not issued in response to a request or application for that account. The bill excludes from this prohibition accounts held by a financial institution pursuant to a bona fide trust agreement.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in Senate Current html March 07, 2017

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill prohibits the enforceability of predispute arbitration agreements for certain disputes related to credit card accounts and covered accounts under the Truth in Lending Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

• 15 U.S.C. § 1631

  Sec. 140B. Validity and enforceability (a) Definitions.--In this section-- (1) the term `covered dispute' means a dispute that is not subject to a final judgment by a court; and (2) the term `predispute arbitration agreement' means any agreement between a person and a consumer providing for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties. (b) Validity and Enforceability.--No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable in a covered dispute that is related to a credit card that was not issued in response to a request or application for that credit card account. (c) Applicability.--The applicability of this section to a predispute arbitration agreement shall be determined by a State or Federal court of competent jurisdiction.

  This adds a new section prohibiting the enforceability of predispute arbitration agreements for credit card disputes that were not issued following a request or application.

• 15 U.S.C. § 1693

  SEC. 920A. VALIDITY AND ENFORCEABILITY. (a) Definitions.--In this section-- (1) the term `covered account'-- (A) means a demand deposit, savings deposit, or other asset account (other than an occasional or incidental credit balance in an open end credit plan as defined in section 103(i)), as described in regulations of the Bureau, established primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, including demand accounts, time accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, and share draft accounts; and (B) does not include an account held by a financial institution pursuant to a bona fide trust agreement; (2) the term `covered dispute' means a dispute that is not subject to a final judgment by a court; and (3) the term `predispute arbitration agreement' means any agreement between a financial institution and a consumer providing for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties. (b) Validity and Enforceability.--No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable in a covered dispute that is related to a covered account that was not issued in response to a request or application for that covered account. (c) Applicability.--The applicability of this section to a predispute arbitration agreement shall be determined by a State or Federal court of competent jurisdiction.

  This adds a new section prohibiting the enforceability of predispute arbitration agreements for disputes related to covered accounts that were not issued upon request or application.

Action History

1. March 07, 2017

   Introduced in Senate

2. March 07, 2017

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Sponsors

• Sherrod Brown · Primary

Subjects