Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Study on How Judges’ Politics Affects Their Application of the Twombly-Iqbal Pleading Rules

Raymond H. Brescia and Edward J. Ohanian, both of Albany have written The Politics of Procedure: An Empirical Analysis of Motion Practice in Civil Rights Litigation Under the New Plausibility Standard, forthcoming in 46 Akron Law Review (2013).   Here's the abstract: Is civil procedure political?  In May of 2009, the Supreme Court issued its decision […]

When Consumer Reports Are Not Used for Credit

by Jeff Sovern We frequently write here about the Fair Credit Reporting Act because of its application to credit reports.  But in fact, the FCRA applies to many non-credit transactions.  Those transactions typically take one of two forms. In one form someone uses a credit report for something other than a lending decision. For example, […]

More Evidence That Consumers Can’t Provide Consumer Protection

by Jeff Sovern Traditional consumer protection rules drew on law and economics models that assumed that consumers were rational and that when consumer markets functioned poorly, all that needed to be done was give rational consumers the ability to protect themselves. For example, the Truth in Lending Act's focus on disclosures presupposes that rational consumers would […]

The Hill: Sen. Warren calls for giving student borrowers the same loan rate as banks

Here.  Excerpt:   The current rate for loans from the window is about 0.75 percent,  while students are facing rates of 6.8 percent, Warren said. "In other words, the federal government is going to charge  students interest rates that are nine times higher than the rates for the  biggest banks — the same banks that […]

Ben-Shahar Reviews Boilerplate

Omri Ben-Shahar of Chicago has written Regulation Through Boilerplate: An Apologia, forthcoming in the Michigan Law Review. Here's the abstract:   This essay reviews Margaret Jane Radin’s Boilerplate: The Fine Print, Vanishing Rights, And The Rule Of Law (Princeton Press, 2013). It responds to two of the book’s principal complaints against boilerplate consumer contracts: that […]

Pat McCoy on Barriers to Foreclosure Prevention

Patricia A. McCoy of Connecticut has written Barriers to Foreclosure Prevention During the Financial Crisis, forthcoming in 55 Arizona Law Review. Here's the abstract: The number of modifications to distressed residential loans has been subpar to date compared to the number of foreclosures. This raises concerns about the presence of artificial barriers to loan modifications […]

American Banker: How to CFPB-Proof New Financial Products

by Jeff Sovern Here (behind a paywall, unfortunately). But here's the part that's not behind the paywall: To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say. And isn't that one of the reasons we […]