Category Archives: Consumer Law Scholarship

Tara Twomey on the Intersection of Reverse Mortgages and Bankruptcy

Tara Twomey of the National Consumer Law Center and National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center has written Crossing Paths: The Intersection of Reverse Mortgages and Bankruptcy.  Here is the abstract: The senior population of the United States is expected to grow rapidly over the next twenty years.  Rather than enjoying their golden years, increasingly older Americans […]

Hoofnagle on Big Data, Privacy, and the FCRA

Chris Jay Hoofnagle of Berkeley has written How the Fair Credit Reporting Act Regulates Big Data for the Future of Privacy Forum Workshop on Big Data and Privacy: Making Ends Meet, 2013. Here is the abstract: This short essay, prepared for the Future of Privacy Forum's Big Data and Privacy: Making Ends Meet event in […]

Annals of Consumer Law: Stephen Ware Paper on the British Debate on Imprisonment for Debt in the Twentieth Century

Stephen J. Ware of Kansas has written A 20th Century Debate About Imprisonment for Debt.  Here's the abstract: In the early twentieth century, Parliament debated whether to abolish imprisonment for debt.  Parliament’s Select Committee on Debtors (Imprisonment) of 1909 heard testimony from witnesses and issued a report recommending the continuation of imprisonment for debt.  This […]

Solove & Hertzog on the FTC and Privacy and Security Duties for the Cloud

Daniel J. Solove of George Washington and Woodrow Hartzog of Samford's Cumberland Law School and Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society have written The FTC and Privacy and Security Duties for the Cloud, 13 BNA Privacy & Security Law Report 577 (2014). Here's the abstract: Increasingly, companies, hospitals, schools, and other organizations are […]

Pridgen Article on Attempts to Eliminate Private UDAP Claims

by Jeff Sovern My co-author, Dee Pridgen of Wyoming, has written an important and disturbing account of attempts by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to dismantle a fundamental device to protect consumers: the private UDAP claim. Readers of this blog will find her article, Wrecking Ball Disguised as Law Reform: ALEC's Model Act on […]

Tidmarsh Article on Auctioning Class Settlements

Jay Tidmarsh of Notre Dame has written Auctioning Class Settlements, forthcoming in the William & Mary Law Review. Here's the abstract: Although they promise better deterrence at a lower cost, class actions are infected with problems that can keep them from delivering on this promise. One of these problems occurs when the agents for the […]

Goldsmith & Martin Study of Public Attitudes Towards Interest Rate Caps

Timothy E. Goldsmith of New Mexico's Psychology Department and Nathalie Martin at New Mexico's Law School have written Interest Rate Caps, State Legislation, and Public Opinion: Does the Law Reflect the Public's Desires? 89 Chicago-Kent Law Review (2014).  Here's the abstract: In scholarly circles, debates about the benefits and burdens of high-costs lending are prevalent, […]

Article on High-Pressure Invited In-Home Selling

Paul Harrison, Marta Massi & Kathryn Chalmers have written Beyond Door-to-Door: The Implications of Invited In-Home Selling, 48 J. Consumer Affairs 195 (2014).  Here is the abstract: Over the past 20 years, consumer groups and policymakers have expressed concerns about the high-pressure selling techniques used during in-home selling, often highlighting the distinction between typical door-to-door […]

Michael Collins Study of High-Risk Mortgage Regulation

J Michael Collins has written Protecting Mortgage Borrowers through Risk Awareness: Evidence from Variations in State Laws, 48 J. Consumer Affairs 124 (2014).  Here is the abstract: In the wake of historic levels of mortgage defaults, regulators have debated how to regulate certain high-risk loans because of the risks of foreclosure involved. This study examines […]

Fixing Consumer Protection Law So Borrowers Understand Their Payment Obligations

by Jeff Sovern The Journal of Consumer Affairs published my paper, Fixing Consumer Protection Laws So Borrowers Understand Their Payment Obligations, 48 Journal Consumer Affairs 17 (2014). Here is the abstract: The millions of consumers who defaulted on their mortgages in recent years should all have received disclosures mandated by the federal Truth in Lending […]