National Cash, Inc. v. Loveless, 361 Ark. 112

Summary

The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed an order certifying a class action involving allegedly usurious fees charged in deferred-presentment check-cashing transactions. The court held that class certification was the superior method for resolving common issues and that potential individual defenses did not defeat certification. It also affirmed denial of a motion to compel arbitration, concluding that the arbitration agreement lacked mutuality because National Cash retained the ability to pursue civil remedies while customers were required to arbitrate.

Holdings

1. The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in finding that class treatment was superior because common questions concerning National Cash's uniform fee practice predominated and class treatment was more efficient and fair than requiring thousands of relatively small individual claims.
2. Whether the individual defendants should remain in the action under a corporate-veil-piercing theory is a merits issue inappropriate for review in an appeal from a class-certification order.
3. The arbitration agreement was invalid and unenforceable because it lacked mutuality: National Cash could pursue all civil remedies allowed by law, while Loveless and the other customers did not have the same ability to seek relief in court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion by finding that a class action was the superior method for adjudicating claims concerning National Cash's allegedly uniform deferred-presentment fees.
2. Whether the circuit court erred in certifying claims against the individual shareholders under a corporate-veil-piercing theory.
3. Whether the arbitration agreement was valid and enforceable when National Cash retained the option to pursue civil remedies in court while customers were required to arbitrate disputes outside small-claims jurisdiction.

Disposition

affirmed