The downturn in the legal market brought a raft of suits against law schools by former students asserting that the schools took the students' money (or caused the the students to run up educational debts) while exaggerating their graduates' job prospects. Most of these suits were thrown out on pre-trial motions. But one trial — […]
Author Archives: Brian Wolfman
Justice Scalia's death has made it likely that some cases accepted for review by the Supreme Court will result in a tie vote. For instance, some observers think that Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, an important consumer-protection case currently before the Court, might split 4 to 4. So, you may be interested in a new article by law prof Justin […]
This article by Amanda Bronstad discusses the Supreme Court's recent denial of review of a class-action decision from the Seventh Circuit concerning whether Rule 23 contains a heightened "ascertainability" requirement. Bronstad's article asks whether the Court's refusal to hear the case is related to Justice Scalia's absence. For one perspective on (and a description of) "ascertainability," go here.
According to this article by Zach Carter, "Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) … is co-sponsoring a new bill that would gut the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus's] forthcoming payday loan regulations. She's also attempting to gin up Democratic support for the legislation on Capitol Hill[.]" Here's an excerpt: The misleadingly titled Consumer Protection and Choice […]
Opioids include morphine, heroin, codeine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. Many opioids are available by prescription to treat pain. Addiction to these drugs is on the rise. (Addiction to the illegal opioid heroin also is on the rise.) Earlier this month, the federal Food and Drug Administration released its plan to reduce abuse of prescription opioids. Read about the […]
It's tragic, but not news, that rich people live longer than poor people. What is news is this new Brookings Institution study that finds that the life-expectancy gap between rich and poor has grown a good bit in recent years. This article by Sabrina Tavernise summarizes the Brookings findings and notes: In the early 1970s, a 60-year-old man […]
A new Gallup report links the tax burden in U.S. states with the desire of residents of those states to move to other states. Check out the following two charts. (In the second chart, "quintile 1" refers to the 10 states with the lowest tax burdens, and "quintile 2" refers to the 10 states with the next […]
We have posted often on self-driving (or autonomous or driverless) cars. Go, for instance, here, here, and here. We've also posted on liability questions — that is, who pays for the costs of crashes involving driverless cars? Now, Brian Fung has written this article on the topic.