The U.S. Supreme Court will hear this morning in Spokeo v. Robins, a case with important implications for a range of consumer protection statutes. The question before the Court, as framed by the company, is "Whether Congress may confer Article III standing upon a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm, and who therefore could not […]
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by Paul Alan Levy On the eve of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Senate version of the Issa-Swalwell bill, (the latter is endorsed by Public Citizen) that would ban non-disparagement clauses in consumer contracts, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has become the first federal court to recognize […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy week. In addition to the actions described in the two posts below, yesterday, the CFPB announced action against the two largest providers of background screening reports to employers for failing to verify the accuracy of reports sold to employers about job applicants. [T]he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a complaint seeking to halt a nationwide student financial aid scam that allegedly ripped off tens of thousands of students and families across the country by illegally charging millions of dollars in fees for sham financial services. The complaint names as defendants Student Financial Resource Center and College […]
In September 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Corinthian Colleges, Inc., alleging that Corinthian engaged in a predatory lending scheme. This week, a federal court entered a final default judgment against Corinthian. The CFPB's press release explains: The Bureau’s lawsuit against Corinthian alleged that the company lured tens of thousands of students into taking […]
We told you yesterday about a story documenting the source of many regulatory delays: OIRA. OIRA is a component of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB now says (in a draft report) that regulations are cost-effective and produce billions of dollars in net benefits. As the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (of which Public […]
In an illuminating piece today entitled "How a small White House agency stalls life-saving regulations," Reuters explains how regulatory delay — chiefly on the part of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — costs lives. The examples cited, including worker-safety, environmental protection, and auto-safety rules, are poignant and powerful. (One example highlighted […]
In an op-ed in today's New York Times, Yale sociology professor Frederick Wherry argues that "[t]he United States government could put billions of dollars back into the pockets of [pay-day loan borrowers] by fixing a small regulatory problem and allowing banks to get into the business of small loans." The op-ed it here.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday released its latest monthly consumer complaints snapshot, which highlights credit card complaints. Consumers’ most frequent credit card-related complaints were about incurring late fees and credit report problems due to confusing payment processing schedules and difficulty disputing bill inaccuracies. This month’s snapshot also highlights trends seen in complaints coming from […]
Law prof Nicole Negowetti has written Food Labeling Litigation: Exposing Gaps in the FDA's Resources and Regulatory Authority. Here is the abstract: Since 2011, consumer advocacy groups and plaintiffs have filed more than 150 food labeling class action lawsuits against food and beverage companies. According to a recent study, the number of these consumer protection class […]