The last few years have had several decisions from state and federal courts of appeals addressing when “clickwrap” or “browsewrap” arbitration agreements are enforceable. “A clickwrap agreement requires a user to check a box or click a button to acknowledge acceptance of the agreement’s terms and conditions,” and “a browsewrap agreement contains hyperlinked terms, and […]
Author Archives: Adam Pulver
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” rushed through Congress last year included a number of major changes to the federal student loan system. Many of those changes required rulemaking by the Department of Education (via a negotiated rulemaking process), and, today, the Department finalized one set of rules. The rules published today (1) implement OBBBA’s […]
In 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act to protect medical consumers from surprise bills when they received emergency treatment, only to later discover the doctor did not accept their insurance. The Act established a process by which, rather than bill patients directly, out-of-network doctors and insurers would engage in mandatory arbitration. Today, the NY […]
Alexander Panelli, a consumer who bought sheets that Target markets as “100% cotton” and “800 thread count” sued Target for violating California consumer law, alleging that the thread counts were actually much lower. In his amended complaint, he noted that it is “physically impossible for cotton threads to be fine enough to allow for 600 […]
In 2024, the FTC finalized its “click-to-cancel” rule, which tried to make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment in recurring subscriptions ias it was to sign up. In 2025, the Eighth Circuit vacated that rule on notice-and-comment grounds. Today, New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection proposed its own version […]
Kalshi, the website that allows people to bet on pretty much anything, is engaged in a high-profile marketing and public affairs campaign to insist why it is *not* a gambling or betting site. One reason may be to avoid the stigma that surrounds gambling and the predatory nature of the industry. But another reason is […]
The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDA) sets a national standard for interest rates that state-chartered banks may charge on loans, preempting state laws that cap interest at lower rates. The statute expressly authorizes states to opt out of the national standard for “loans made in such State.” In 2023, Colorado announced […]
Last year, four consumers who were parties to arbitration agreements in which the sole choice of forum for dispute resolution was the American Arbitration Association sued the company under the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust acts, the Arizona Constitution, and state antitrust and unfair and deceptive practices laws. They alleged monopolistic practices, and that “the AAA […]
New York’s General Business Law section 399-zzz, enacted in 2011, prohibits businesses from charging extra fees to pay by mail or to receive a billing statement — but does not prohibit such businesses from ” offering consumers a credit or other incentive to elect a specific payment or billing option.” Customers of TD Bank sued […]
Touting it as containing “the strongest protections in the country against debt collector harassment,” New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) yesterday published its “Stopping Harassment and Intimidation and Ensuring Lawful Debt (SHIELD) Collection Rule.” According to DCWP, the rule “allow[s] New Yorkers to dispute their debt at any time, further limiting […]