Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Wyoming Consumer Issues Conference: Navigating the New Health Care Market

Wyoming's 13th Consumer Issues Conference has the theme of “Navigating the New Health Care Market. "  It will feature speakers on major consumer healthcare issues across three tracks: Innovative Directions in Healthcare; Legal Horizons in Healthcare; and Consumer Compass to Healthcare.  Early registration ends September 23.  Keynote Speakers: – Steven Brill, author of Time Magazine Article “Bitter […]

Rutledge & Drahozal Paper on the Prevalence of Arbitration Clauses After Concepcion and Amex

Peter B. Rutledge of Georgia and Christopher R. Drahozal of Kansas have written 'Sticky' Arbitration Clauses?: The Use of Arbitration Clauses after Concepcion and Amex. Here's the abstract: We present the results of the first empirical study of the extent to which businesses have switched to arbitration after AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. After the […]

David Skeel Paper on Behavioral Economics and the CFPB

David A. Skeel Jr. of NYU, Penn, and the European Corporate Governance Institute has written Behavioralism in Finance and Securities Law.  Here is the abstracgt: In this Essay, I take stock (as something of an outsider) of the behavioral economics movement, focusing in particular on its interaction with traditional cost-benefit analysis and its implications for […]

Is the Solution to Payday Lending Better Disclosures?

by Jeff Sovern As I have noted before, payday lending and deposit advances present a conundrum for me: how to permit those who genuinely have a short-term borrowing need and who can't get the money elsewhere to borrow without creating a long-term debt trap.  Recently I listened to hearing held by the Senate Special Committee […]

Soliciting Comments on an Arbitration Study

by Jeff Sovern I figure if it's good enough for the CFPB, it's good enough for us:  I'm part of a team, along with other professors and the Hugh L Carey Center for Dispute Resolution here at the Law School, that is crafting a survey on consumer understanding of arbitration clauses.  Unlike the CFPB survey, […]

Paper on Behavioral Economics and Consent to Tracking Internet Use

Frederik J. Zuiderveen Borgesius of the Institute for Information Law (University of Amsterdam) has written Consent to Behavioural Targeting in European Law – What are the Policy Implications of Insights from Behavioural Economics?  Here is the abstract: Behavioural targeting is the monitoring of people’s online behaviour to target advertisements to specific individuals. European law requires […]

Another Story on Car Repair Cheats

From time to time, news media run a story on car repair outfits that cheat consumers.  Unfortunately, there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of such businesses, perhaps because most consumers lack the ability to determine if they are being ripped off by their mechanics.  You can find another such story here.  

Paper Comparing Foreclosure Procedures and the Number of Mortgage Originations

Quinn Curtis of Virginia has written State Foreclosure Laws and Mortgage Origination in the Subprime Market, forthcoming in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics. Here's the abstract: Foreclosure procedures in some states are considerably swifter and less costly for lenders than in others. In light of the foreclosure crisis, an empirical understanding of […]