As Forbes discusses, the D.C. city council has just passed a law to combat the abuses associated with civil asset forfeiture, the law enforcement practice of taking people's money or property and asking questions (such as whether they had the authority to do it) later. The Washington Post summarizes what asset forfeiture is: Civil forfeiture […]
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Our site does its share (we hope!) of calling attention to dangerous and/or exploitative corporate practices, so it's only fair that we also mention when a company seems to be looking out for its consumers. Brian's post earlier today discussed a looming showdown over airbag recalls, with the manufacturer, Takata, refusing NHTSA's demand to broaden […]
With Privacy Basics, the social network site provides a sleek, interactive guide to your privacy options. Whatever you think of Facebook's record on privacy, the new policy seems to reflect a recognition on Facebook's part that their users do care about it. I don't know all the details of how the policy has changed over […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently told Takata Corp. to expand its regional defective-airbag recall (in states that have high "absolute" humidity) to vehicles in the entire country. Takata just said no. Most recalls are voluntary — that is, the manufacturer agrees to do what the agency demands. Here, however, NHTSA will have to […]
Yesterday, I received an email from the Consumer Protection Branch at the U.S. Department of Justice with links to recent announcements from that office. Here is what DOJ's consumer lawyers were up to in November: November 21, 2014 – United States Files Enforcement Action Against Michigan Sandwich Company and Co-Owner to Stop Distribution of Adulterated […]
"Remember the robo-signers, those mortgage loan automatons who authenticated thousands of foreclosure documents over the years without verifying the information they were swearing to? Well, they’re back, in a manner of speaking," reports the Times. Read on.
We mentioned last week that fracking will be permitted in a national forest in Virginia, near the Potomac's headwaters. Now the outgoing governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, says that he will open up lands in the western portion of that state to fracking, although he touts the stringent regulations he intends to impose. The Washington […]
This week, the former CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he violated mine safety rules and hindered federal safety enforcement in connection with the April 2010 explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch Mine, in which 29 miners died. Despite the intense public interest in the case — which […]
The Arizona attorney general sued GM today saying just that. Read about the suit here. An excerpt: Arizona's attorney general has sued General Motors Co. for failing to recall millions of cars and trucks with safety defects the auto giant did not disclose for years. The lawsuit seeks potentially billions of dollars in fines. Attorney […]