Fifth District Enforces Mortgage Company Arbitration Agreement Except as to Class Actions
Our Chicago alternative dispute resolution lawyers noted a recent Fifth District Court of Appeal ruling upholding an arbitration agreement but severing its class-action waiver. In Keefe v. Allied Home Mortgage Corporation, No. 5-07-0463 (Ill. 5th 2009) (PDF), Rosemary Keefe was the lead plaintiff in a proposed class action against her mortgage broker. She refinanced through Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. in 1999, and as part of that deal, she signed a rider requiring binding arbitration of most disputes. Five years later, she filed a proposed class action against Allied, accusing it of consumer fraud and other torts for charging third-party fees (such as credit check fees) in excess of their actual cost and failing to disclose this. Allied moved to compel arbitration. Without an evidentiary hearing, the trial court ruled that the arbitration agreement was illusory and procedurally and substantively unconscionable, and Allied filed an interlocutory appeal.
The Fifth District started by examining de novo whether the agreement was indeed illusory. An illusory promise is something that appears to be a promise but holds out no performance, or only an optional performance. The Fifth found that it was not illusory, because the arbitration rider specified that the borrower may request arbitration in any judicial proceeding started by Allied. Furthermore, it noted, the rest of the contract may be considered part of the consideration granted to the plaintiff.
It next looked at the finding that the agreement was both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. A contract is procedurally unconscionable when some impropriety during the signing of the contract -- such as language that is difficult to find or understand -- robs the signer of a reasonable choice. That was not the case here, the court said. The arbitration rider was not hidden by fine print, it wrote, nor was it difficult to read or understand. Rather, the arbitration rider “conspicuously” used bold capital letters to notify the plaintiff that she was signing a contract that gave away her right to a jury trial. Nor did she need to sign it to obtain the refinancing.
The court also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the rider was unconscionable because it failed to notify her of the cost of arbitration. The Fifth noted that the arbitration rider did contain a provision notifying the plaintiff that she can get copies of rules and forms related to arbitration at any National Arbitration Forum office or by mail order. Under Kinkel v. Cingular Wireless LLC, 223 Ill. 2d 1, 22, 857 N.E.2d 250, 264 (2006), this is not enough by itself to render the contract unconscionable, the court wrote, but it may be considered along with findings on substantive unconscionability.
Finally, the Fifth looked at whether the arbitration rider was substantively unconscionable. A contract is substantively unconscionable when the contract terms are unfair, one-sided or create a large imbalance between price and cost. The plaintiff first argued that the rider is cost-prohibitive because it specifies that no claim may be brought by class action. The Fifth found some merit in this. In Kinkel, the Illinois Supreme Court found that class-action waivers are not per se unconscionable, but courts should look at their fairness as well as the cost of bringing an individual claim relative to the damages. Once again following that decision, the Fifth found the cost of pursuing an individual claim was high relative to the potential damages, especially including arbitration and attorney fees. Taking into account Allied’s failure to reveal the cost of arbitration, the court ruled that the class-action waiver was unconscionable. But rather than declare the entire contract unconscionable, the court simply severed the class-action clause, reversed the rest of the trial court’s decision and remanded the case with directions to enforce the remainder.
