The CFPB arbitration report found that class actions can return significant sums to consumers. Adding to the literature on that topic, Brian T. Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt and Robert C. Gilbert have written An Empirical Look at Compensation in Consumer Class Actions. Here is the abstract: Consumer class actions are under broad attack for providing little in […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern Here we go again. The Republicans have repeatedly tried to convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to a commission structure. The latest effort, H.R. 1266, is sponsored by Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas. The bill would replace the CFPB's director with a five-member commission, of whom no more than three could be […]
by Jeff Sovern BloombergBusiness columnist Carter Dougherty has a story, Bank Customers May Get Their Day in Court, about the CFPB arbitration report. Dougherty writes: In its report, the CFPB noted that there were just 52 arbitration claims under $1,000 in 2010 and 2011, and consumers won relief in just four of them. Says [Deepak] […]
Nancy S. Kim of California Western and D. A. Jeremy Telman of Valparaiso have written Internet Giants as Quasi-Governmental Actors and the Limits of Contractual Consent, Forthcoming in the Missouri Law Review. Here is the abstract: Although the government’s data-mining program relied heavily on information and technology that the government received from private companies, relatively little […]
Here. An excerpt: The reality is that credit-reporting firms have been required for decades to ensure the accuracy of consumers' files. They're not doing us a favor. They're just finally saying that they'll follow the law. "For years, the credit-reporting agencies have scoffed at the law," said Scott Maurer, a law professor at Santa Clara […]
Here. An excerpt: In the Big Business narrative, arbitration is a far better place for consumers than a nasty-wasty court. Lack of choice is a better choice! Well, this week, a big, fat government report blew that fiction away. * * * Companies, it turns out, weren't using mandatory arbitration clauses to protect us. […]
Here. My favorite part: I've written a lot over the years about the need for government to step in when markets fail to protect consumers.* * * Nearly every time, I get angry push-back from tea-party types and libertarians who question any intervention – even against monopolists or near-monopolists. Among the rare exceptions: the nation's […]
by Jeff Sovern New York's Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, announced a settlement with the big three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and Transunion, which is intended to improve credit report accuracy. According to Scheiderman's release: The agreement requires that the CRAs employ specially trained employees to review all supporting documentation submitted by consumers for all disputes […]
by Jeff Sovern The American Banker had an article this week, Could the Fight Over Cost-Benefit Analysis Kill Reg Relief? that made some interesting points. After noting that Senate Banking Committee Chair Richard Shelby advocates more cost-benefit analysis, the author, Victoria Finkle, wrote: "The idea of rigorous cost-benefit analysis is like motherhood and apple pie […]