Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

Abstracts due by August 3 for March 2021 Berkeley Consumer Law Scholars Conference at Boston University

We're received the following call for abstracts: The Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice and conference co-organizers Kathleen Engel, Ted Mermin, Rory Van Loo, and Lauren Willis are pleased to announce the third annual Consumer Law Scholars Conference (CLSC), which will be held the afternoon and evening of March 4 and all day March 5, 2021, at Boston […]

Comments to CFPB Conservative/Industry Taskforce Due June 1 During a Pandemic

by Jeff Sovern As we previously noted, the CFPB's Conservative/Industry Taskforce created to make "recommendations for ways to improve and strengthen consumer financial laws and regulations" issued a request for information. Comments are due Monday, June 1. As far as I know, the deadline for commenting has not been extended, despite the fact that we […]

Foohey, Jiménez & Odinet: The Debt Collection Pandemic

Pamela Foohey of Indiana Maurer, Dalié Jiménez of Irvine, and Christopher K. Odinet of Iowa have written The Debt Collection Pandemic, California Law Review Online (2020 Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: As of May 2020, the United States' reaction to the unique and alarming threat of COVID-19 has partially succeeded in slowing the virus’s spread. […]

Forbes: Stimulus Proposal: $10,000 In Credit Card Interest Relief During Coronavirus Pandemic

Here, by Shahar Ziv, taking a deep dive into Norm Silber's and my proposal. Excerpt: Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t the first catastrophe to fuel consumer credit challenges. In a paper, Thriving on Adversity: Disclosing Corporate Mistreatment of Consumers Caught in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Exploring the Consumer Movement's Response to Crisis and Catastrophe, which was […]

Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearing on proposal to eliminate business liability to consumers for infecting them with Covid-19

by Jeff Sovern The video and prepared testimony is here. If you have time to read only one, I recommend David Vladeck's excellent statement.  Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has described this terrible proposal as a "red line" for future coronavirus bills, it appears he does not have the full support of his caucus. […]

New Duke resource on the mortgage lending that led to the Great Recession

Guest Post from Edward Balleisen: Readers of this blog may be interested in a new website, American Predatory Lending (APL), which explores the state-level dynamics of mortgage lending in the run-up to 2008, with an initial focus on North Carolina.  Law professors who teach about consumer law and/or banking law will find a range of resources that […]

Da Lin and Daniel Schwarcz call for car insurance rate cuts while driving is down so much

Da Lin and Daniel Schwarcz have written an op-ed, States Must Act To Cut Auto Insurance Rates During COVID-19 for Law360 (free access during the pandemic). They explain "Auto insurers are experiencing a massive windfall as a result of the coronavirus, but they are not returning a fair portion of those gains to consumers. And […]

Foohey, Jiménez & Odinet Paper: The Folly of Credit As Pandemic Relief

Pamela Foohey of Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Dalié Jiménez of California, Irvine and Christopher K. Odinet of Oklahoma have written The Folly of Credit As Pandemic Relief 68 UCLA L. Rev. Disc. __ (2020 Forthcoming). Here's the abstract: Within weeks of the coronavirus pandemic appearing in the United States, the American economy came to […]

Shmuel Becher on design principles for effective consumer protection legislation

Shmuel I. Becher of New Zeeland's Victoria University of Wellington has written The Puzzle of Effective Consumer Protection Legislation: Challenges, Key Lessons and Design Principles, in The Law and Economics of Regulation, Mathis & Torr eds (forthcoming Springer, 2021). Here is the abstract: Legislation, even when well-intended, sometimes fails to provide the desired results. By […]