For several years, consumers have brought suit against manufacturers of processed foods (for example, bottled teas, granola bars, and cereals) advertised as “all natural.” In these lawsuits, the consumer alleges that the all-natural claim is false and misleading because the foods are not in fact “all natural.” Early cases often focused on the use of […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
The Federal Trade Commission announced today a law enforcement initiative, called “Operation Failed Resolution,” aimed at stopping marketers that use deceptive advertising claims to sell weight-loss products. At the same time, the FTC announced settlements in cases it brought against four different weight-loss companies. For example, ads Sensa promised that, with their product, consumers could […]
The CFPB’s mortgage servicing rule will take effect on January 10. That same day, the Bureau will host a training for housing counselors, legal aid attorneys, and other advocates on the new rule. The training, called “Protecting homeowners: New tools for empowering consumers and advocates,” will be held in Phoenix. You can watch live at […]
The CFPB, 49 states, and the District of Columbia have entered into an agreement with Ocwen Financial Corp. the largest nonbank mortgage servicer in the country, that requires Ocwen to provide more than $2 billion in relief to homeowners. The relief will be in the form of principal reduction and refunds to customers whose homes […]
The LA Times reports: The city of Los Angeles accused banking giants Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. of a “continuous pattern and practice” of mortgage discrimination that led to a wave of foreclosures, reduced property tax revenue and increased costs for city services. In twin lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court, the city […]
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit yesterday held that the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not preempt Indiana’s state robocall ban. The TCPA regulates various telemarketing behavior and regulates the use of autodialers. The federal regulations allow robocalls for non-commercial purposes, but the Indiana law bans all robocalls made without […]
Big news with implications for many aspects of the law. The changes eliminate filibusters on most nominees, but preserve the filibuster for Supreme Court picks and legislation. Politico has the story.
The CFPB yesterday announced an enforcement action against payday lender Cash America International Inc. According to the CFPB's press release, Cash America will pay up to $14 million in refunds to consumers for robo-signing court documents in debt collection lawsuits, and will pay a $5 million fine for the robo-sgning and for destroying records in […]
Linda Greenhouse had this interesting piece in the New York Times yesterday, about Chief Justice Roberts's "invitation" to cases challenging cy pres awards, as she describes the Chief Justice's statement (at p. 24 of the pdf) last week concerning the denial of the petiton for certiorari in Marek v. Lane–the cert petition about the cy […]
In June 2011, the Supreme Court decertified a class action brought by women claiming that Wal-Mart underpaid and underpromoted its female employees throughout the chain. The Court's decision in the case, called Wal-Mart v. Dukes, was predicted to have significant effect on plaintiffs' ability to litigate Title VII discrimination cases on a classwide basis. Two […]