by Jeff Sovern The Faculty Lounge Blog recently posted a census of law professors who post on Twitter. I was disappointed to see that consumer law professors were not really represented on the list (I tweet, but rarely, and then not always about consumer law; indeed my most recent tweet said something like "This just […]
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We're written before about the problem of civil asset forfeiture — the law enforcement practice, disproportionately affecting low income people and people of color, of taking property from people on the suspicion that it had something to do with a crime. This month, following on the heels of forfeiture reform in D.C., Attorney General Holder […]
"There have been powerful reminders in recent days that the financial system needs more regulatory vigilance, not less. But they come just as Republicans are setting their agenda in Congress, complete with vows to weaken the Dodd-Frank reform law." So begins a New York Times editorial entitled "An Uncertain Future for Dodd Frank." As the […]
As we've discussed recently, the Supreme Court is set to decide by June whether the Fair Housing Act covers policies and practices that contribute to racial segregation in housing where there has been no showing they were intended to do so. (See here and here, for instance.) This morning, Brian discussed some of the historical […]
That's the question posed by law professor and writer Garrett Epps in this article about Wednesday's Supreme Court oral argument (and the issues raised by it) in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. — the case about whether the Fair Housing Act authorizes claims based on disparate impact (and […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week finalized changes to the “Know Before You Owe” mortgage disclosure rules. The changes were proposed in October and address (1) when consumers will receive updated disclosures after locking in an interest rate and (2) how consumers receive information regarding certain construction loans. The final rule is posted here. […]
Reporter Linda Greenhouse had this op-ed in yesterday's New York Times about issues that have arisen and will remain if the Supreme Court strikes down state bans on gay marriage. She notes a "a pipeline’s worth of cases in which florists, bakers and owners of wedding venues are invoking claims of conscience to shield them […]
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday issued a study on credit report accuracy. The study found that "most consumers who previously reported an unresolved error on one of their three major credit reports believe that at least one piece of disputed information on their report is still inaccurate." The congressionally mandated study on national credit report […]
In 2004, Costco bought some Omega watches from a third party in New York and sold them at a discount in its U.S. stores. The watches, otherwise sold only in Europe, had a small globe design on the back, and Omega sued Costco, arguing that the sale of the watches violated Omega's copyright in the […]
About an hour ago, the Supreme Court finished hearing oral argument on whether disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act (as every circuit to address the issue has held since the Act's enactment in 1968). This blog has covered the issue repeatedly over the past few years. This morning, Pemy Levy of […]