Indian country payday lenders

Based on the foregoing reasons, the Court declines to enforce the delegation provision and the arbitration provision in the Parnell Loan Agreement. The arbitral forum is unavailable, and the provisions themselves are unconscionable. The Court therefore denies Defendant’s Motion to Compel.

Yet Another Suit against Western Sky Proceeds

March 8, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Smith v. Western Sky Financial LLC (E.D. Pa.):

Another motion to dismiss or stay based on tribal exhaustion and the sham Western Sky arbitration/forum selection clauses. When will Rule 11 kick in?

Update in Western Sky-Related Proceedings

November 2, 2015November 2, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are materials in Dillon v. BMO Harris Bank NA (M.D. N.C.):

162 Dillion Motion to Compel re Generations

164 Dillon Motion to Compel

165 Bay Cities Bank Opposition

166 Generations Community FCU Opposition

170 DCT Order

An excerpt:

Using the Heldt analysis, however, Plaintiffs’ logic can be used to assert a colorable claim of tribal jurisdiction, because some of Defendants’ actions involved alleged tribal entities and/or tribal members.”). Operating against that backdrop, these courts mandated tribal exhaustion where the record did not establish (i) the nature of the payday lenders’ relationship to each other and/or the tribe; (ii) the unavailability of the specified tribal arbitral forum; and (iii) for purposes of the Western Sky agreement, (A) who constitutes an “authorized representative of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Nation” and (B) whether any such authorized representative “is a JAMS or AAA arbitrator,” Heldt, 12 F. Supp. 3d at 1193 (internal quotation marks omitted).See id. at 1184-87, 1190-93; see also Brown, 84 F. Supp. 3d at 480-81 (following Heldt).

As discussed below, Dillon bases his Requests and Motions to Compel in significant part on a need to develop a factual record sufficient to overcome the concerns in the Heldt line of cases. (See, e.g., Docket Entry 162 at 1-2; Docket Entry 162-2 at 4-6.).

We posted on this Rule 19 portion of this case here.