Last Monday, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, and held that California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.98, a provision of the California Arbitration Act that governs the payment of fees in employment and consumer arbitrations, is not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. That provision […]
Author Archives: Adam Pulver
When do investments by outsiders turn a tribal business into one that does not share in the tribe’s sovereign immunity? In a case decided today, the Third Circuit attempted to answer that question. The Fort Belknap Indian Community, a Montana-based Indian tribe, created a corporation called the Island Mountain Development Group, which manages another tribe-created […]
The National Credit Union Administration has promulgated regulations regarding the applicability of state laws to federal credit unions, including 12 C.F.R. s. 701.35(c), which, after setting out how a federal credit union may may determine the types of fees affecting the maintenance of its accounts, provides: “State laws regulating such activities are not applicable to […]
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Ford Motor Warranty Cases. In each of the consolidated cases, plaintiffs who had purchased Ford vehicles sued Ford, alleging defects in the cars they purchased, violations of express and implied warranties, and fraudulent concealment. Ford moved to arbitrate on the grounds that the sales contracts between […]
Some of the little work that the Administration has authorized the CFPB to undertake has been motions to withdraw amicus briefs filed in pending cases. In one case, though, a judge has in part rejected such a motion. In the case, Salom v. Nationstar Mortgage, the CFPB had filed an amicus brief explaining “explains why […]
In Pickett v. City of Cleveland, the defendant appealed the district court’s certification of a class of Black homeowners or residents who had been obligated to pay certain debts to a water utility that were secured by their property, pursuant to both Rule 23(b)(2) and Rule 23(b)(3). A panel of the Sixth Circuit unanimously affirmed the […]
In 2008, Puerto Rico adopted a law prohibiting merchants from charging credit card surcharges, while allowing merchants to offer cash discounts. In 2013, the legislature dropped the provision allowing cash discounts, and the Puerto Rico Department of Consumer Affairs has since issued an interpretation that cash discounts are forbidden. A group of merchants sued, arguing […]
This week, the Senate advanced the GENIUS Act, which would establish a (too-weak) regulatory framework for “stablecoins” and other digital currency. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has proposed an amendment to that bill which would prohibit credit card interest rates above 10%. The banking industry is not pleased.
On May 8 and 9, President Trump attempted to fire the three Democratic members of the Consumer Protection Safety Commission. Today, represented by my colleagues at Public Citizen, those commissioners filed suit asking that the purported terminations be set aside. The press release is available at https://www.citizen.org/news/trump-firing-consumer-product-safety-commissioners-was-unlawful/ and the complaint is available at https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/ECF-1-Complaint-3.pdf.
The FTC currently has only three commissioners, all of whom are Republicans. There has been significant concern that the remaining commissioners will take a lax view as to both the agency’s rulemaking and enforcement authority. Nonetheless, today the Commission, with only 2 Commissioners participating due to a recusal, announced the filing of a complaint against […]