Here. Excerpt: As I document in my 2019 book, “Outbreak: Foodborne Illness and the Struggle for Food Safety,” a handful of high-profile lawsuits against food companies have encouraged businesses at every link along the supply chain to improve their safety practices. That’s what happened after lawsuits against Jack in the Box over contaminated hamburgers in 1993 and Dole over E. […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern That's the title of my post over at the ContractsProf Blog virtual symposium on contracts and COVID. Here's an excerpt: The argument behind liability waivers as to normal risks is that people should be able to arrange their private affairs as they wish, but COVID liability waivers are not purely private. Virus liability waivers […]
Christopher K. Odinet of Iowa has written Predatory Fintech and the Politics of Banking, Iowa Law Review (2021 Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: With American families living on the financial edge and seeking out high cost loans even before COVID-19, the term financial technology or “fintech” has been used like an incantation aimed at remedying everything that’s […]
Anne died Tuesday night of an embolism. Those of us who knew Anne know what a loss this is. Those who weren't lucky enough to have met her may know her through her work or may have seen her activities described on this blog here, here, and here. More about her here. Anne's death is […]
We've received the following Call for Papers, which overlaps with consumer law issues: Racial Capitalism: An Elaboration in Legal Scholarship As a journal dedicated to social, racial, and economic justice, the Journal of Civil Rights & Economic Development (JCRED) is soliciting articles for Racial Capitalism, an Elaboration in Legal Scholarship, our forthcoming symposium issue. This issue will explore the […]
Albert H. Choi of Michigan and Kathryn E. Spier of Harvard have written The Economics of Class Action Waivers. Here is the abstract: Many firms require consumers, employees, and suppliers to sign class action waivers as a condition of doing business with the firm, and three recent US Supreme Court cases, Concepcion, Italian Colors, and Epic […]
Cheryl Wade, author of Predatory Lending and The Destruction of the African American Dream, Sarah Ludwig, Executive Director, New Economy Project, and Cathi Kim, Director, Inclusiv/Capital will speak on Thursday, August 13 at 7 pm EDT. Attendance is free but registration is required. The registration link is at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxTjViodwGaNG03Q1kEqD85DvhpkNxYbpp968QVzMD9mkrTQ/viewform.
Guest post by Neil Sobol: As part of an article in which I advocate for the incorporation of consumer law issues in first-year law classes, I requested my research assistant, Spencer Lockwood, to update the consumer law offerings chart reported in Jeff Sovern's post in 2019. Spencer surveyed 201 ABA accredited law schools via their websites. He organized […]
by Jeff Sovern Not only does McConnell's coronavirus bill make it much harder for consumers to sue businesses that carelessly infect them with the virus, it also makes it much easier for businesses to sue consumers suffering from COVID. Suppose a consumer sends a letter asking for help with medical bills to a business that […]
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 […]