Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

SCOTUS Personal Jurisdiction Case Likely to Limit Nationwide Mass/Class Actions in State Courts

by Jeff Sovern Yesterday, SCOTUS decided the Bristol-Meyers case, limiting the power of state courts to exercise specific personal jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants in cases brought by out-of-state plaintiffs.  State courts can still hear cases, including nationwide class actions, through their general jurisdiction over defendants, as long as the defendant is essentially at home in […]

David Reiss: Americans are better off with consumer protection in place

Brooklyn's David Reiss has written an op-ed for The Hill, Americans are better off with consumer protection in place. Excerpt: [T]he [Treasury] report argues that the bureau’s jurisdiction overlaps with that of other regulators. That is a red herring. The fact is that abusive lending practices were rampant in the years leading up to the […]

Am. Banker Reports CFPB Expected to Issue Third Party Debt Collection Rule by Early 2018

Here. It might even happen by the end of this year. Excerpt: "Creditors should be responsible since they are our customers," said Dong Hong, vice president and senior counsel at the Consumer Bankers Association. "For the most part, we're fine with the disclosure regime the CFPB is creating.

Predatory Auto Lending Times Report: The Car Was Repossessed, but the Debt Remains

Another important story from Jessica Silver-Greenberg & Michael Corkery here. I can't do justice to it with a brief excerpt, but see if this makes you want to read the whole piece (which you should): More than a decade after Yvette Harris’s 1997 Mitsubishi was repossessed, she is still paying off her car loan. She […]

Article Explains How Online Sellers Can Use Big Data to Personalize Prices

Mariateresa Maggiolino of Bocconi University has written Personalized Prices in European Competition Law.  Here is the abstract: The advent of big data analysis techniques make personalized prices possible. This paper sketches a preliminary picture of this new phenomenon, first explaining how personalized prices flow from big data analysis, how personalized prices fit into the economic […]

Law360’s Weinberger on How the Treasury’s Review of the Community Reinvestment Act Worries Critics

Here.  Excerpt: [T]he CRA only covers banks, not nonbank financial firms. That leads to an uneven playing field, said Jeffrey Naimon, a BuckleySandler LLP partner. "Banks are asking why should a national nonbank mortgage lender have no CRA but a bank have a CRA requirement?" he said. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition said it is […]

Cordray Replies to Criticism by House Financial Services Staff

Reuters covers it here, and housing Wire here.  Both stories refer to a five-page letter from the Director.  According to the Reuters' story: The [Committee staff] report said the CFPB had been an ineffective watchdog against Wells Fargo & Co, missing extensive improper sales practices and taking action only after work on the bank's unauthorized […]

New Books by Senators Elizabeth Warren & Al Franken: The Consumer Law Perspective

by Jeff Sovern I recently listened to the audio versions of these two books, Al Franken, Giant of the Senate and Warren's This Fight is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class.  Each is read by the author. I enjoyed both thoroughly: they are inspiring, interesting, and Franken's is, as might be expected […]