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EA's New User Agreement Bans Lawsuits

Posted by timothy on from the what's-the-eula-equivalent-to-jury-nullification dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this snippet: "Electronic Arts has updated its Terms of Service Agreement for the Origin platform. Following Sony's steps, and taking it even further, EA has added a new clause that prevents users from suing them in both class action and jury trial forms."

2 of 273 comments (clear)

  1. Binding arbitration == The Corporate Holy Grail by oDDmON+oUT · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This has been a corporate stealth agenda in the US since the late 1980s.

    Don't believe me?

    What's your immediate reaction to the following phrases:
                McDonalds coffee lawsuit
                Jackpot justice
                Frivolous lawsuit
                Tort reform
    No need to reply, just hold the thought.

    Now go to http://hotcoffeethemovie.com/ and watch the trailer (if you have HBO watch the full film there, or rent the DVD after November).
    Now consider the sheer number of companies that have, or changed, EULAs, warranties, or other consumer contracts to preclude anything other than "binding arbitration".
    Guess who pays for the "arbitrators"?
    The company whose product or service you, the consumer, have had a problem with.
    Since said arbitrators are paid for the company, how many adverse rulings do you think you're going to see against the company?

    EA is just following suit of AT&T, Verizon, FINRA, auto dealers, and many others looking to minimize their "attack threshold", which is a good thing, right?

    PS: For extra credit research and discuss ALEC, and enjoy your weekend.

    --
    Some days it's just not worth
    chewing through my restraints.
    1. Re:Binding arbitration == The Corporate Holy Grail by izomiac · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The point of the documentary seems to be that propaganda from large corporations has made people think these are much larger problems then they actually are. People on both sides abuse the system. In the case of the coffee, the woman nearly died (Baux score of 95, with 140 being "comfort care only") with third degree burns to 6% of her body (16% burned total), and medical bills of $10,500 for her 8 day hospitalization, and over two years of treatment including skin graphs. Here is a picture of her burns, if you're still doubtful.