Recent years have brought lots of litigation about food products that are labeled as "all natural" but contain highly processed or "unnatural" ingredients. Dating back much further, the Food and drug Administration has long acknowledged the confusing and even misleading use of the term, but until today, the agency had not used its regulatory authority […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
Following up on its 3-part series on forced arbitration clauses, the New York Times published an editorial reiterating the conclusions of the series. The editorial concludes: Reversing the broader trend of forced arbitration, however, will require public outcry loud and long enough to stir the White House and Congress to action. Many people interviewed in […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced today: [The FTC] and other law enforcement authorities around the country announced the first coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative targeting deceptive and abusive debt collection practices. This nationwide crackdown encompasses 30 new law enforcement actions by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities against collectors who use illegal tactics such as […]
San Jose Mercury News reports: The skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs — already a hot issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail — may be headed to California's statewide ballot next fall. Advocates of a proposed measure that would require state programs to pay no more for prescription drugs than prices negotiated by […]
The New York Times published today the third and final part of its on forced arbitration. This installment, entitled "In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law," focuses on religious organizations' use of mandatory arbitration clauses to submit to "religious arbitration." For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle […]
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear this morning in Spokeo v. Robins, a case with important implications for a range of consumer protection statutes. The question before the Court, as framed by the company, is "Whether Congress may confer Article III standing upon a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm, and who therefore could not […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy week. In addition to the actions described in the two posts below, yesterday, the CFPB announced action against the two largest providers of background screening reports to employers for failing to verify the accuracy of reports sold to employers about job applicants. [T]he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a complaint seeking to halt a nationwide student financial aid scam that allegedly ripped off tens of thousands of students and families across the country by illegally charging millions of dollars in fees for sham financial services. The complaint names as defendants Student Financial Resource Center and College […]
In September 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Corinthian Colleges, Inc., alleging that Corinthian engaged in a predatory lending scheme. This week, a federal court entered a final default judgment against Corinthian. The CFPB's press release explains: The Bureau’s lawsuit against Corinthian alleged that the company lured tens of thousands of students into taking […]
In an op-ed in today's New York Times, Yale sociology professor Frederick Wherry argues that "[t]he United States government could put billions of dollars back into the pockets of [pay-day loan borrowers] by fixing a small regulatory problem and allowing banks to get into the business of small loans." The op-ed it here.