A growing trend in contracts between consumers and businesses is mandatory arbitration. That's a clause in your contract that says if you have a gripe, you can't sue. Instead, you go to arbitration.

Consumer advocates don't like these, saying the company often chooses the arbitrator, which means the deck is stacked against the consumer. Companies of course like these because it's a way to cut down on lawsuits.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has thrown out AT&T's clause, saying it violates California law. That means a class-action lawsuit brought by several customers can proceed. Not sure if this will set precedent around the country, since the court only cited the CA law.

Watch out for these clauses - you'll find them in contracts for everything from phone companies to homebuilders. Not much you can do about them except take your business elsewhere. But that's tough to do since so many companies use them.