The Washington Post reports: A lawsuit stemming from Flint’s lead-contaminated water was filed Monday on behalf of the city’s residents against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder as well as other current and former government officials and corporations. The federal lawsuit — which is seeking class-action status — alleges that tens of thousands of residents have suffered […]
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The Wall Street Journal reports today: President Barack Obama on Monday defended his administration’s record on financial regulatory issues and said that shadow banking, cybersecurity, and rules governing executive compensation would be top priorities during his remaining months in office. On shadow banking in particular, regulators faced a challenging task in overseeing a new sector […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced that it is accepting complaints from consumers encountering problems with loans from online marketplace lenders. The CFPB is also releasing a consumer bulletin that provides an overview of marketplace lending and outlines tips for consumers who are considering taking out loans from these types of lenders. Millions of […]
Law professor Edward McCaffery has written Taxing Wealth Seriously, which argues that U.S. wealth inequality can be and should be reduced via tax policy. Here's the abstract: The social and political problems of wealth inequality in America are severe and getting worse. A surprise is that the U.S. tax system, as is, is a significant cause […]
A new study led by researchers at UC Berkeley and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas demonstrates how even a short break from certain kinds of makeup, shampoos and lotions can lead to a significant drop in levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body. Analysis of urine samples before and after a three-day trial in […]
The downturn in the legal market brought a raft of suits against law schools by former students asserting that the schools took the students' money (or caused the the students to run up educational debts) while exaggerating their graduates' job prospects. Most of these suits were thrown out on pre-trial motions. But one trial — […]
Earlier this week, in a decision that is likely to be influential to the federal court in California now considering whether Apple can be compelled to help the FBI break into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein rejected the government's request for a similar order in an unrelated New York case. […]
USA Today reports: Facebook has changed the way people do a lot of things online. For example, you probably notice yourself reflexively clicking 'like' on anything your friends post on Facebook, even if it's just to acknowledge you saw it. Scammers are taking advantage of that reflex for a dangerous scam called "like-farming." What is […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action this week against online payment platform Dwolla for deceiving consumers about its data security practices and the safety of its online payment system. The CFPB ordered Dwolla to pay a $100,000 penalty and fix its security practices. Details are in the CFPB's press release.
Justice Scalia's death has made it likely that some cases accepted for review by the Supreme Court will result in a tie vote. For instance, some observers think that Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, an important consumer-protection case currently before the Court, might split 4 to 4. So, you may be interested in a new article by law prof Justin […]