Michael Blasie of Seattle has written Regulating Plain Language, forthcoming in the Wisconsin Law Review. Here is the abstract: What one scholar coined a “quiet revolution” in consumer contracts has been a half century in the making. And the revolution extends well beyond consumer contracts. Legislatures and regulators passed over seven hundred plain language laws […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
It’s headlined The Dirty Little Secret of Credit Card Rewards Programs, by Chenzi Xu and Jeffrey Reppucci. After referring to a study that found that when rewards go up, so do the fees merchants pay for credit card processing, the op-ed explains: The vast majority of merchants pass these costs on to consumers by charging more for their products […]
Alexandros Antoniou of the University of Essex has written Swear-Vertising: When Does the Advertising Watchdog Bark? 27 Communications Law – Journal of Computer, Media and Telecommunications Law 111 (2022). Here’s the abstract: The article examines the extent to which advertisers can expressly use, or use by implication, swear words in their advertising. It reviews the […]
The New Republic, asked conservative Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who often espouses the positions asserted by the banking industry during hearings of the House Financial Services Committee, if he reads the fine print on his contracts. The answer: ““I don’t read the fine print on any of that stuff,” he said. “I’m a busy guy.” Among […]
Earlier today the Supreme Court announced that it would take the case in which the Fifth Circuit had held the CFPB’s funding mechanism was unconstitutional, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited. The Bureau had asked the Court to hear the case during the current term but the Court instead decided to […]
Abigail Faust of The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute has written Regulating Excessive Credit, forthcoming in the Wisconsin Law Review. Here is the abstract: Consumer financial protection law is dominated by ex-ante, contract-centered regulatory measures. But these measures largely fail to curb lenders’ incentive to lend beyond consumers’ ability to repay. The Article thus suggests an alternative […]
Here (behind paywall). The information ultimately comes from the Department of Education.
R Wilson Freyermuth of the University of Missouri at Columbia, Christopher K. Odinet of Iowa, and Andrea Tosato of the University of Nottingham, School of Law and Penn have written Predatory Crypto in Real Estate. Here is the abstract: Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have ushered in a digital gold rush. But all that glitters is not gold. […]
Here is the section on consumer protection in President Biden’s speech: My administration is also taking on “junk” fees, those hidden surcharges too many businesses use to make you pay more. For example, we’re making airlines show you the full ticket price upfront and refund your money if your flight is cancelled or delayed. We’ve […]
As Richard and Allison posted, the CFPB has proposed a new rule limiting the credit card late fee safe harbor to $8. And as is perfectly predictable, banks are angry about facing a restriction on late fee revenue. I want to comment on their arguments against the proposed rule. First some background: the Credit CARD […]