VOL. CLXV . . . No. 57,037 + © 2015 The New York Times NEW YORK, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and ROBERT GEBELOFF

On Page 5 of a credit card con-tract used by American Express,beneath an explainer on interestrates and late fees, past the de-tails about annual membership,is a clause that most customersprobably miss. If cardholdershave a problem with their ac-count, American Express ex-plains, the company “may electto resolve any claim by individualarbitration.”

Those nine words are at thecenter of a far-reaching powerplay orchestrated by Americancorporations, an investigation byThe New York Times has found.

By inserting individual arbitra-tion clauses into a soaring num-ber of consumer and employmentcontracts, companies like Ameri-can Express devised a way to cir-cumvent the courts and bar peo-ple from joining together in class-action lawsuits, realistically theonly tool citizens have to fight il-legal or deceitful business prac-tices.

Over the last few years, it hasbecome increasingly difficult toapply for a credit card, use a cell-phone, get cable or Internet serv-ice, or shop online without agree-ing to private arbitration. Thesame applies to getting a job,renting a car or placing a relativein a nursing home.

Among the class actionsthrown out because of the clauseswas one brought by Time Warnercustomers over charges they saidmysteriously appeared on theirbills and another against a travelbooking website accused of con-spiring to fix hotel prices. A topexecutive at Goldman Sachs whosued on behalf of bankers claim-ing sex discrimination was alsoblocked, as were African-Ameri-can employees at Taco Bell res-taurants who said they were de-

nied promotions, forced to workthe worst shifts and subjected todegrading comments.

Some state judges have calledthe class-action bans a “get out ofjail free” card, because it is near-ly impossible for one individual totake on a corporation with vastresources.

Patricia Rowe of Greenville,S.C., learned this firsthand whenshe initiated a class actionagainst AT&T. Ms. Rowe, whowas challenging a $600 fee forcanceling her phone service, wasamong more than 900 AT&T cus-tomers in three states who com-plained about excessive charges,

state records show. When thecase was thrown out last year,she was forced to give up and paythe $600. Fighting AT&T on herown in arbitration, she said,would have cost far more.

By banning class actions, com-panies have essentially disabledconsumer challenges to practiceslike predatory lending, wagetheft and discrimination, courtrecords show.

“This is among the most pro-found shifts in our legal history,”William G. Young, a federal judgein Boston who was appointed byPresident Ronald Reagan, said inan interview. “Ominously, busi-ness has a good chance of optingout of the legal system altogetherand misbehaving without re-proach.”

More than a decade in the mak-ing, the move to block class ac-tions was engineered by a Wall

Arbitration Everywhere,

Stacking Deck of Justice

Vast Trend Locks Americans Out of Court

— Rulings Greatly Favor Business

BEWARE THE FINE PRINT

First of three articles.

Continued on Page 22

By JAMES RISEN

WASHINGTON — AymanAmmar and Rashid Albuniclaimed to be computer technol-ogy distributors, operatingthrough multiple corporations inDubai, in the United Arab Emir-ates. The United States govern-ment, though, charged them withsmuggling — of illegally shippingAmerican equipment to the Syri-an government that can help itmonitor Internet traffic and spyon dissidents.

The Syrian case, in which thetwo men were fined last monthfor violating American economicsanctions against Syria, is one ofthe few the Obama administra-tion has pursued to limit authori-tarian governments from acquir-ing technology that enables cen-soring, spying and hacking.

That is largely because manyof the same tools that repressivegovernments seek from Westerncompanies are vital for social me-dia and other communications bypolitical protesters and grass-roots organizers throughout theworld. The software and otherequipment are also used byAmerican and other law enforce-ment agencies to track criminalsor disrupt plots, and are neededto filter out unwanted contentfrom most commercial and gov-ernmental networks and to keepthem secure.

Such dual-use technology isnow at the center of a conflict be-tween Silicon Valley and the ad-ministration over additional re-

A Syrian Case

Reflects a Battle

On Tech Exports

Continued on Page 13

Continued on Page 18

By PATRICK HEALY

Spotted: Bernie Sanders, walk-ing down Sixth Avenue in Man-hattan. Swinging hands with hiswife, Jane. Pointing to buildings.Looking at the sidewalk.

And talking as little as possibleto people. Not asking for a singlevote.

He did consent to the occa-sional selfie — “Sure,” “O.K.” —but his chattiest interaction camewith a man who stopped short atthe sight of the Democratic presi-dential contender and blurted outhis name.

“How are you?” Mr. Sandersasked.

“I’m good, but I’m voting forTrump,” the man said.

Mr. Sanders walked on a fewsteps, turned back and openedhis mouth as if to reply — but nota word came out.

For a candidate who has in-spired the most impassioned fol-

lowers since Barack Obama in2008, Mr. Sanders is surprisinglyimpersonal, even uninterested, inone-on-one exchanges — the sortof momentary encounters inwhich a candidate can showwarmth and humility by grippingevery open palm.

He rarely drops by diners orcoffee shops with news cameras

Bernie Sanders Won’t Kiss

Your Baby. That a Problem?

DANIEL ACKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Bernie Sanders after a barbe-cue in Iowa City last month.

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

WASHINGTON — Gettingfrom Cuba to the big leagues hasnever just been about 450-foothome runs and 100-mile-an-hourfastballs.

When the Mets’ slugging out-fielder Yoenis Cespedes decidedin 2011 that he wanted to leave his

country to play baseball in theUnited States, he did what doz-ens of Cuban baseball playershave done since the Castro gov-ernment came to power morethan 50 years ago.

Risking arrest as well as theirlives, Mr. Cespedes and 10 mem-bers of his family fled the islandin the middle of the night on asmall boat. Twenty-three hourslater, they arrived in the Domini-

can Republic. He then defected,setting him on the road to a multi-million-dollar contract with a ma-jor-league team. At least one rela-tive who remained in Cuba wasjailed, and Mr. Cespedes has nev-er returned home.

But since the United States andCuba announced last year thatthey would begin to normalize re-lations, the Obama administra-tion and Major League Baseball

have been quietly working to cre-ate an entirely new system thatwould end the arduous journeys— including midnight boat ridesand defections from internationalcompetitions — that Cuban base-ball players have had to endure.Not incidentally, it would createfor the Obama administration asymbolic bridge between the twocountries that would demon-

U.S. and Cuba in Trade Talks, for Ballplayers to Be Named Later

Continued on Page 17

Continued on Page 10

By ANDREW HIGGINS

SUMTE, Germany — This bu-colic, one-street settlement ofhandsome redbrick farmhousesmay for the moment have manymore cows than people, but nextweek it will become one of thefastest growing places in Europe.Not that anyone in Sumte is veryexcited about it.

In early October, the districtgovernment informed Sumte’smayor, Christian Fabel, by emailthat his village of 102 people justover the border in what was onceCommunist East Germany wouldtake in 1,000 asylum seekers.

His wife, the mayor said, as-sured him it must be a hoax. “Itcertainly can’t be true” that sucha small, isolated place would beasked to accommodate nearly 10times as many migrants as it had

residents, she told him. “Shethought it was a joke,” he said.

But it was not. Sumte has be-come a showcase of the extremepressures bearing down on Ger-many as it scrambles to find shel-ter for what, by the end of theyear, could be well over a millionpeople seeking refuge from pov-erty or wars in Africa, Syria, Iraq,Afghanistan and elsewhere.

In a small concession to the vil-lagers, Alexander Götz, a region-al official from Lower Saxony,told them this week that the ini-tial number of refugees, whostart arriving on Monday and willbe housed in empty office build-ings, would be kept to 500, andlimited to 750 in all.

Nevertheless, the influx is test-

Germany’s Test in a Nutshell:

102 Villagers, 750 Migrants

GORDON WELTERS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Dirk Hammer of Sumte at a public meeting on refugees.

Two men who had published the worksof a critic of religion were attacked inDhaka, with one dying at the scene, asextremist violence persists. PAGE 4

INTERNATIONAL 4-14

More Stabbings in Bangladesh Hewlett-Packard, the $100 billion com-pany that is credited with inventing Sili-con Valley, is dividing into two parts asit tries to save itself. PAGE 1

SUNDAY BUSINESS

A Tech Innovator Splits in 2International students find the (real)American dream. Also, inside the newSAT; the surge in test-optional schools;a new application to the elites. PAGE 1

EDUCATION LIFE

Finding America, in Flint

U(D547FD)v+[!&!/!#!\Maureen Dowd PAGE 1

SUNDAY REVIEW

EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Debris in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt where a plane bound for St. Petersburg, Russia, crashed. The flight recorder was recovered.

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR and MERNA THOMAS

MOSCOW — A Russian char-ter flight ferrying 224 passengersand crew to St. Petersburg fromthe Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, crashed soon aftertaking off early Saturday, killingeveryone onboard, officials inEgypt and Russia said.

The plane, an 18-year-old Air-bus A321-200, disappeared fromradar screens about 25 minutesafter it took off, according to offi-cial accounts. Hossam Kamal, theEgyptian transportation minis-ter, denied that anything abnor-mal had happened before theplane disappeared. Earlier newsreports in Egypt, citing officials,said the pilot had radioed that hewas having technical difficultiesand wanted to make an emergen-cy landing.

“Communications between thepilot and the tower were verynormal — no distress signals oc-curred,” Mr. Kamal said at anews conference broadcast na-tionally. The pilot did not requestto change his route to make anemergency landing, he said, em-phasizing that “all was normal;the plane disappeared suddenlyoff the radar without any priorwarning.”

The Egyptian government sentmilitary crews and 50 ambu-lances to the crash site in an areacalled Hasana, a mountainous re-gion about 46 miles south of El-Arish, the main city in the part ofthe Sinai Peninsula where the

Crash in EgyptOf Russian JetKills Over 220

Continued on Page A14

A 10-year-old girl who was out trick-or-treating and two adults were killedwhen a car swerved onto a sidewalk.Four others were injured. PAGE 25

NATIONAL 16-25

Car Jumps Curb: 3 Die in Bronx

ROYALS WIN, 5-3, PUSHING METS TO THE BRINK

Today, variable cloudiness, a mil-der day, high 66. Tonight, mostlycloudy, low 55. Tomorrow, mostlycloudy, mild for early November,high 64. Weather map, Page 26.

$6 beyond the greater New York metropolitan area. $5.00

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