Jay Tidmarsh of Notre Dame has written Auctioning Class Settlements, forthcoming in the William & Mary Law Review. Here's the abstract: Although they promise better deterrence at a lower cost, class actions are infected with problems that can keep them from delivering on this promise. One of these problems occurs when the agents for the […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
I don't usually link to posts on Ballard Spahr's CFPB Monitor on the theory that our readers also read their blog (and if you don't, you should), but just in case that theory is incorrect as to some of our readers, here is the the story.
Timothy E. Goldsmith of New Mexico's Psychology Department and Nathalie Martin at New Mexico's Law School have written Interest Rate Caps, State Legislation, and Public Opinion: Does the Law Reflect the Public's Desires? 89 Chicago-Kent Law Review (2014). Here's the abstract: In scholarly circles, debates about the benefits and burdens of high-costs lending are prevalent, […]
Here. I recommend the conference highly. Very informative.
by Jeff Sovern In preparation for remarks at the University of Houston's Teaching Consumer Law Conference, to be held this year in Santa Fe in May, I asked my research assistant, Preston Postlethwaite, to review the web sites of the ABA-accredited schools to see which are teaching consumer law courses this school year. According to Preston, 49 […]
No surprise, in view of past Republican attempts to cripple the CFPB by doing just that, but still an unfortunate proposal. The Hill has the story here.
by Jeff Sovern Last week, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on Alternative Financial Products. The American Banker account is here, albeit behind a paywall. I found most interesting the payday lending discussion, and in particular the arguments made against regulation. At one point, a Senator (I think Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania), questioned a witness, Stephanie […]
Paul Harrison, Marta Massi & Kathryn Chalmers have written Beyond Door-to-Door: The Implications of Invited In-Home Selling, 48 J. Consumer Affairs 195 (2014). Here is the abstract: Over the past 20 years, consumer groups and policymakers have expressed concerns about the high-pressure selling techniques used during in-home selling, often highlighting the distinction between typical door-to-door […]
J Michael Collins has written Protecting Mortgage Borrowers through Risk Awareness: Evidence from Variations in State Laws, 48 J. Consumer Affairs 124 (2014). Here is the abstract: In the wake of historic levels of mortgage defaults, regulators have debated how to regulate certain high-risk loans because of the risks of foreclosure involved. This study examines […]