Green Tree Financial Corporation—Alabama v. Randolph
Supreme Court
531 U.S. 79 (2000)
Larketta Randolph (plaintiff) financed a mobile home through a contract with Green Tree Financial Corporation (defendant) that included a mandatory arbitration clause and charged her for repossession insurance as part of the finance charge; Randolph brought a class action alleging Truth in Lending Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act violations, and the Eleventh Circuit found the arbitration clause unenforceable because its silence on apportioning arbitration fees threatened her ability to vindicate her statutory rights, reversing the district court's order compelling arbitration; Green Tree sought Supreme Court review.
Whether an arbitration clause is rendered unenforceable simply because it makes no provision for how arbitration costs will be apportioned between the parties.