Did you sign away some constitutional rights when you bought a new car, major appliance or even a service? Binding arbitration clauses are very common, but you may want to preserve your rights and access to courts.

Frequently. when you purchase a car, appliance, or service, you are confronted with a binding arbitration agreement as part of the transaction. Electronically, it often takes the form of a “box” to be checked to complete the transaction.

The agreement is often embedded in contracts between parties and mandates that disputes be resolved through arbitration rather than litigation in court.

While some argue that these forced arbitrations may “streamline” proceedings, they raise serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and elimination of constitutional rights.

If your major purchase does not perform as it should, you should preserve your right to take the seller to court. You should not have to rely on forced arbitration when, in many cases, you are immediately at a disadvantage.

Frequently, with a major transaction, you may wish to cross out the section of the contract calling for binding arbitration to resolve disputes. Alternatively, you could simply write “do not agree” in that space of the contract, signing in the margin.

Keep in mind that the salesperson wants your business and is not concerned with potential future dispute resolution. The salesperson will not/ should not allow the deal to fail because you object to the forced arbitration clause.

Connecticut regularly grapples with the intricate legal terminology of forced arbitration agreements. Connecticut recognizes the validity of these agreements when entered voluntarily, where both parties fully understand the terms and consequences of waiving the right to a trial. However, that assumes the buyer actually read and understood the terms.

To create a contract, each party must have an identical understanding of the terms. However, there is a general rule that when a person of mature years accepts a written contract, the person has a duty to read it, and the contents will be imputed to him. There is an exception, however, when something has been done to mislead the individual.

Access to the courts is guaranteed in the Seventh Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a court trial in federal civil cases. Connecticut’s constitution provides for the same in state court matters.

Arbitrations eliminate access to courts, lack transparency, eliminate the potential for appeals and class actions and may result in bias from mandated arbitrators. These contracts are generally considered contracts of adhesion, with unequal power and bargaining dynamics.

The time may have come to eliminate forced arbitration. Until that time, rather than allow the vendor to control the process, forum and terms of dispute resolution, you may conclude it is best to cross it out that clause and preserve your access to the courts.

When we make a purchase, we all hope it will work out as assumed. They don’t always, of course. It’s probably a good idea to preserve your rights.

Attorney John F. Buckley Jr. is a partner at the New Haven-based firm of Buckley Wynne & Parese. He handles personal injury cases of all types as well as a variety of other legal issues. He can be reached at 203-776-2278 or [email protected].

This article was featured in the following news publications:

• The New Haven Register
• Connecticut Post
• The Hour
• Stamford Advocate
• Greenwich Time
• News Times
• the Middletown Press
• The Register Citizen