Nathalie Martin of New Mexico has written Public Opinion and the Limits of State Law: The Case for a Federal Usury Cap, 34 North Illinois University Law Review (2014). Here's the abstract: This Article calls on Congress to set a federal interest rate cap of 36%, applicable to all loans. Part II of this Article briefly describes […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern This is not consumer law, but perhaps readers of the blog will appreciate some Civil Procedure humor. I asked my CivPro students to write haikus about the course. Some samples: Minimum contacts Then to hell with sovereignty Now it's personal! I think about you In substance and procedure Isn't that Erie? […]
Catherine Lee Wilson of Nebraska has written Making Prepaid Safe for Consumers: A Framework for Providing Deposit Insurance and Regulation E Protections, Forthcoming in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law. Here's the abstract: General purpose reloadable prepaid cards are part of a larger trend toward a cashless society. This market offers significant benefits […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. Disclosure: the story quotes me and discusses my article on cooling-off periods.
Frank Pasquale of Maryland has a terrific op-ed in today's Times, The Dark Market for Personal Data, about lists of consumers with various characteristics. An excerpt: There are three problems with these lists. First, they are often inaccurate. For example, as The Washington Post reported, an Arkansas woman found her credit history and job prospects wrecked […]
by Jeff Sovern The op-ed is here, at Forbes.com. Except that if you want to find out why everything Warren said is wrong, maybe the op-ed wouldn't be the place to look. Here's the lead: Why do people borrow? To hear law professor turned Senator Elizabeth Warren, it is because they are seduced by rapacious […]
Thomas A. Durkin and Gregory Elliehausen, both of the Fed, and Todd J. Zywicki of George Mason have written An Assessment of Behavioral Law and Economics Contentions and What We Know Empirically About Credit Card Use by Consumers. Here is an abstract: “Behavioral Law and Economics” (BLE) is a specialized component of the legal literature […]
Julia S. Cheney, Robert M. Hunt, Vyacheslav Mikhed, and Dubravka Ritter all of the Philadelphia Fed, have written Identity Theft as a Teachable Moment. Here is the abstract: This paper examines how instances of identity theft that are sufficiently severe to induce consumers to place an extended fraud alert in their credit reports affect their […]
The main story is here, and sidebars on efforts to silence internet critics can be found here (quoting fellow blogger Scott Michelman) and here. An excerpt: [The consumers] agreed to pay $16,600 in principal and interest, with seven years of monthly $195 installments. In return, Sundance promised 30 weeks of "resort area condominium accommodations" in […]
Quoting from the CFP: The 15th conference of the International Association of Consumer law is organized on the theme of “Virtues and Consumer Law”. We kindly invite participants from all around the world to submit an abstract of a paper they would like to present during the conference addressing one of the virtues and consumer […]