Consider this factoid about the legal relationship that Americans increasingly have with product manufacturers, service providers, credit card companies and employers: if you use credit cards or cell phones, have purchased a house from a builder or placed a loved one in a nursing home, chances are you've signed away your constitutional right to a jury trial if there's a problem.

From routine credit card contracts to multi-million-dollar home purchases, the increasingly popular and controversial use of mandatory predispute arbitration clauses puts consumers at a distinct legal disadvantage when problems arise, says Dallas attorney Mark McQuality of Shackelford Melton & McKinley. It's a lopsided system in which consumers lose 94 percent of the time, according to a recent California study. Decisions by arbitrators -- lawyers or professionals who oversee and rule on cases -- are final and cannot be appealed.

U.S. lawmakers are now debating the Arbitration Fairness Act, which would ban such predispute arbitration clauses in consumer, franchise and employment matters. McQuality, who represents homeowners in construction-related complaints and other business torts, says it's about time. "These hidden clauses cause consumers to sign away their constitutional right to a jury trial," he says. "There's a place for arbitration, but it should be a voluntary option once a dispute has surfaced, as opposed to something that's buried in paperwork."