Category Archives: Consumer Law Scholarship

Hoffman article proposes that low-stakes form contracts should be unenforceable

David A. Hoffman of Penn has written Defeating the Empire of Forms, forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review. Here’s the abstract: For generations, contract scholars have waged a faint-hearted campaign against form contracts. It’s widely believed that adhesive forms are unread and chock full of terms that courts will not, or should not, enforce. Most think […]

Proposals for regulating ChatGPT and other generative AI

“While ChatGPT and generative AI’s powerful potential has sparked excitement, some experts worry that ChatGPT—which sometimes produces inaccurate responses—may spread misinformation. In addition, other experts have expressed concern that the tool may replace workers.” At The Regulatory Review, scholars compile scholarship discussing the potential harms of ChatGPT and evaluating ways to regulate generative AI. The […]

James Nehf Article on Earned Wage Access

James P. Nehf of Indiana has written Fintech, Payday Loans and the Changing Landscape of Cash-Advance Consumer Credit in the United States, 10 Int’l J. Cons. L. & Practice 1 (2022). Here’s the abstract: High-cost, cash-advance or “payday” loans have plagued low-in- come consumers in the United States for several decades. With little regulation at […]

Michael Blasie Article on Plain Language Laws

Michael Blasie of Seattle has written Regulating Plain Language, forthcoming in the Wisconsin Law Review. Here is the abstract: What one scholar coined a “quiet revolution” in consumer contracts has been a half century in the making. And the revolution extends well beyond consumer contracts. Legislatures and regulators passed over seven hundred plain language laws […]

Not an article I expected to see: article explores when ads can use swear words in the UK

Alexandros Antoniou of the University of Essex has written Swear-Vertising: When Does the Advertising Watchdog Bark? 27 Communications Law – Journal of Computer, Media and Telecommunications Law 111 (2022). Here’s the abstract: The article examines the extent to which advertisers can expressly use, or use by implication, swear words in their advertising. It reviews the […]

Using consumer law to protect workers

In Consumer Law as Work Law (forthcoming Calif. L. Rev. 2024), law professor Jonathan Harris describes the possibilities and challenges of turning to consumer law as part of an integrated work law to help remediate the bargaining power asymmetries between firms and workers. Here is the abstract: In recent decades, firms have radically transformed labor […]

Faust article proposes interesting solution for when lenders make loans consumers lack the ability to repay

Abigail Faust of The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute has written Regulating Excessive Credit, forthcoming in the Wisconsin Law Review.  Here is the abstract: Consumer financial protection law is dominated by ex-ante, contract-centered regulatory measures. But these measures largely fail to curb lenders’ incentive to lend beyond consumers’ ability to repay. The Article thus suggests an alternative […]

Predatory Crypto in Real Estate: Paper explores replacement of mortgage consumer protections with crypto

R Wilson Freyermuth of the University of Missouri at Columbia, Christopher K. Odinet of Iowa, and Andrea Tosato of the University of Nottingham, School of Law and Penn have written Predatory Crypto in Real Estate. Here is the abstract: Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have ushered in a digital gold rush. But all that glitters is not gold. […]

Study examines extent to which student loan borrowers eligible for PSLF benefit even before obtaining loan forgiveness

Daniel Collier, Assistant Professor of Adult and Higher Education, University of Memphis and Dan Fitzpatrick, Research and Assessment Specialist, University of Michigan, have written Jubilee and Jubilation: An Examination of the Relationship between Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Measures of Well-Being. Here is the abstract: A team of researchers at the University of Memphis and the […]

Automating Bias Symposium at Cardozo Law School on January 25, 2023

We received the following announcement: Automating Bias Symposium Cardozo Law School January 25, 9:30- 4:45 Algorithmic models built using machine learning and large volumes of personal data are increasingly used to target consumers with credit offers, assess consumers’ creditworthiness, price credit, provide debt management advice to consumers, resolve credit disputes, and more generally automate the […]