In solidarity with the protests that have initiated a national conversation on institutional racism, the St. John’s Law School Student Chapter of the National Association of Consumer Advocates is hosting a two-part online discussion on discrimination in the context of economic justice. Our first conversation will focus on the housing discrimination that continues to harm […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern I served on a faculty committee this summer that prepared a report with tips for online teaching. The report, which may be useful to law professors, is available here. Here's the abstract: This is a collection of recommendations drawn from a variety of sources, including our colleagues, students, webinars, books, articles, podcasts, […]
by Jeff Sovern The argument that businesses should not be liable to consumers whom they carelessly infect with the coronavirus is based on the claim that if Congress does not outlaw such cases, we will see a tidal wave of lawsuits. Thus far, that argument has no basis in reality. In fact, if anything, consumer […]
by Jeff Sovern Politico has a summary of the McConnell bill here. It immunizes schools, colleges, charities, and businesses that follow public health guidelines from liability for negligently infecting consumers with the virus. But many public health guidelines are written in terms of what is feasible or possible, meaning that the entities subject to the […]
Shmuel I. Becher of Victoria University of Wellington and Sarah Dadush of Rutgers have written Relationship as Product: Transacting in the Age of Loneliness. Here's the abstract: Behavioral economists and social psychologists distinguish between two main types of relationships. One type is “exchange relationships,” which are based on mutual benefit and economics principles. The second type […]
Vivien Chen of the Monash University – Department of Business Law & Taxation has written Online Payday Lenders: Trusted Friends or Debt Traps? 43 University of New South Wales Law Journal (Advance 2020). Here's the abstract: The recent Senate inquiry into credit and hardship underscored the prevalence of predatory conduct in the payday lending industry. […]
by Jeff Sovern Businesses are lobbying to overturn laws that impose liability for negligently infecting customers with the coronavirus, claiming that they fear frivolous law suits and that they will observe heath guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. But in fact, plenty of businesses are not even requiring employees to wear masks–and that's […]
by Jeff Sovern This article in the Houston Chronicle says that Texas health laws don't require restaurants to tell diners whether employees have COVID, though some restaurants have voluntarily disclosed that employees have been infected. Health laws around the nation should be amended to prevent employees with COVID from knowingly or negligently working at restaurants, […]
We've received the following Call for Papers: Call for PapersJunior Consumer Law Scholars WIP session AALS Section on Commercial & Consumer Law January 5-9, 2021, AALS Annual Meeting The AALS Section on Commercial & Consumer Law is pleased to announce a “Works-in-Progress Session for Junior Consumer Law Scholars” program during the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting in San […]
by Jeff Sovern Ralph was one of the original co-authors of the consumer law casebook I am now privileged to co-author. I met him when we were working on the third edition. He was a genial and gentle man, and absolutely brilliant. He was not only a great teacher of law students, but also a […]