One Comment

  • I saw the hearing on C-Span and was appalled by the behavior of Senator Franken. I like Al Franken very much and appreciated his radio program wherein he grappled with the Iraq War and yalked about fishing with his dad. At the hearing he said that AT&T ripped off Mr. Concepcion for 30 bucks, and Mr. Concepcion had access only to arbitration and was denied relief through class action. The 30 bucks was for taxes on a “free” phone. Undoubtedly those who got the “free” cars from Oprah Winfrey had tax liabilities. According to Al Franken, Oprah ripped off her audience. When a witness tried to explain that payments occur faster with arbitration, Frankin accused the man of lying because the arbitration would rule against Concepcion, and no payments would ensue. But then again, Concepcion would almost certainly lose at trial. The idea was to get a nuisance settlement and a big payday for lawyers.

    I failed to see the claimed sarcasm at the hearing. Senator Leahey is not the brightest candle on the cake.