United States
Two systems operating in parallel: Rule 23 class actions in court, and mass arbitration wherever a contract has closed that door.
Most US consumer contracts now contain an arbitration clause with a class-action waiver, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly enforced them. The practical consequence is not that claims disappear. It is that they must be filed one at a time — and that a company which drafted the clause is obliged to arbitrate every one of them, and to pay the fees its chosen forum charges.
Our New York desk organizes those programs and litigates the class actions that remain available. The PayWave program is the firm's largest.
- Forum
- AAA · JAMS · S.D.N.Y.
- Mechanism
- Individual demands · Rule 23
- Funding
- Contingency and portfolio funding
- Costs
- American rule; fee-shifting by statute
- Limitation
- State statutes of limitation apply
Routes to collective relief in the United States
Each has its own standing test, class mechanism and cost consequences. We advise on the choice before a claim is issued anywhere.
Mass arbitration
FAAIndividual demands filed in coordinated volume under the AAA or JAMS mass-arbitration protocols. Bellwether hearings resolve common issues; per-claimant fee schedules do the economic work.
- No certification required
- Respondent-side filing fees at scale
- Bellwether and global settlement structures
Class actions
Rule 23Where no enforceable waiver applies, Rule 23(b)(3) remains the most efficient route: one case, one class, one judgment, with predominance and superiority as the battleground.
- Numerosity, commonality, typicality, adequacy
- Predominance and superiority
- Court-supervised notice and settlement approval
Consumer arbitration
AAAConsumer Arbitration Rules cap the claimant's filing fee and place the balance on the business. Understanding that schedule before filing is the difference between a program and a liability.
- Capped consumer fees
- Documents-only or telephonic hearings
- Reasoned awards on request
Federal litigation
MDLMultidistrict litigation consolidates related federal cases for pretrial purposes. Often the right vehicle where injuries differ but the conduct does not.
- Pretrial consolidation
- Leadership appointment
- Census and vetting programs
How a program proceeds
Representative timetable from a live matter in this jurisdiction. Every registered claimant sees the same stages, dated, in their portal.
- Demands filedApr 14, 2026
- Fee determinationMay 30, 2026
- Bellwether hearingsIn progress
- Global settlement
- Distribution
New York
- Address
- 195 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10007, United States
- Telephone
- +1 212 555 0148
- Forum
- S.D.N.Y. · AAA · JAMS
- Regime
- Mass arbitration and Rule 23
The PayWave program is open to registration
A coordinated program of individual arbitration demands against PayWave, Inc. Checking your eligibility takes four minutes and commits you to nothing.