Category Archives: Consumer Law Scholarship

Schwartz Article on Scalia’s Jiggery-Pokery in Arbitration

David S. Schwartz of Wisconsin has written Justice Scalia's Jiggery-Pokery in Federal Arbitration Law, Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 101, Headnotes 75 (2016). Here's the abstract: "Jiggery-pokery," a phrase introduced into the U.S. Reports by the late Justice Scalia, is emblematic of Justice Scalia's style — both his lively writing style and his penchant for criticizing his […]

Paper on the Use of Unenforceable Terms in Consumer Contracts

Harvard Law S.J.D. candidate and John M. Olin Fellow Meirav Furth-Matzkin has written On the Surprising Use of Unenforceable Contract Terms: Evidence from the Residential Rental Market.  Here is the abstract: This paper explores the prevalence of unenforceable terms in consumer contracts. Taking the residential rental market in the Greater Boston Area as a test […]

Waldman Article: Manipulating Trust on Facebook

Ari Ezra Waldman of New York Law has written Manipulating Trust on Facebook, 29 Loyola Consumer Law Review.  Here is the abstract: Facebook is built on gathering massive amounts of information from its users. To maximize the data it collects, Facebook relies on the trust we have in our friends to encourage us to share […]

Ware Article on The Politics of Arbitration and Centrist Proposals

Stephen J. Ware of Kansas has written The Politics of Arbitration Law and Centrist Proposals for Reform, 53 Harvard Journal on Legislation (2016).  Here is the abstract: Arbitration law in the United States is far more controversial when applied to individuals than to businesses. While enforcement of arbitration agreements between businesses sometimes raises legal issues that […]

Bambauer et al. Article on Defects in Privacy Disclosures

Jane R. Bambauer, Jonathan D. Loe, and D. Alex Winkelman, all of Arizona have written A Bad Education, 2016 University of Illinois Law Review ___ (Forthcoming).   Here is the abstract: Mandated disclosure laws achieve their regulatory goals by educating the public about latent attributes of a product or service. At their best, they improve the accuracy of […]

Bar-Gill & Ben-Shahar Paper: Optimal Defaults in Consumer Markets

Oren Bar-Gill of Harvard and Omri Ben-Shahar of Chicago have written Optimal Defaults in Consumer Markets.  Here's the abstract: The design of default provisions in consumer contracts involves an aspect that does not normally arise in other contexts. Unlike commercial parties, consumers have only limited information about the content of the default rule and how […]

Amy Schmitz Article: Remedy Realities in Business-to-Consumer Contracting

Amy Schmitz of Missouri has written Remedy Realities in Business-to-Consumer Contracting, 58 Arizona Law Review 213 (2016). Here is the abstract: Professor Jean Braucher greatly contributed to the exploration of consumer and contract law by questioning how the law operates in the real world and highlighting the importance of “law in action.” In recognition of that […]

Hoofnagle on Privacy and the FTC’s Bureau of Economics

Chris Jay Hoofnagle of Berkeley has written Privacy and Security Through the Lens of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics.  Here's the abstract: At the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), all privacy and security matters are assigned to a consumer protection economist from the agency’s Bureau of Economics (BE). The BE is an important yet […]

MacDonald Article Calls for Judicial Review of CFPB’s Non-Legislative Rules

Kevin M. McDonald of VW Credit, Inc. has written Who's Policing the Financial Cop on the Beat? A Call for Judicial Review of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Non-Legislative Rules, 35 Review of Banking and Financial Law, 224 (2015-2016).  Here's the abstract: This law review article addresses administrative power in the context of financial services. The Dodd-Frank Act […]

Peter Holland’s Powerful Piece: Current Trends in Consumer Junk Debt Buyer Litigation

Here.  In the Maryland Bar Journal.  And here is the abstract: This article examines current trends in debt buyer litigation, including a review of recent regulatory actions and the impact of debt buyer lawsuits on individual consumers and on small claims courts. The article calls for a ban on the sale of consumer junk debt […]