For reasons we've discussed many times before, class actions are important and powerful tools for holding bad actors accountable. But sometimes the settlements they produce aren't as beneficial to class members as one would hope. For an useful and accessible discussion of the types of problems that can arise in some class action settlements, check […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
As reported by the Guardian and other news outlets, Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation is going to great lengths to keep Pennsylvania environmental activist Vera Scroggins out of sight and out of earshot. So much so that the company obtained an injunction barring Scroggins not only from Cabot-owned properties but also all properties in the […]
The number of obese people has skyrocketed in recent years, which has focused some lawmakers on discrimination against obese people, including in employment. Some jurisdictions have enacted laws against this type of employment discrimination. In Legal Largesse or Big, Fat Failure: Do Weight Discrimination Laws Improve Employment Outcomes of the Obese?, Jennifer Shinall looks at […]
Last week, Brian noted that DropBox has added a forced arbitration clause with a class-action ban to its terms of use, and observed that the "opt-out" provision was a "public relations gambit," not a serious effort to allow consumers to make an informed choice about whether to give up the right to go to court. […]
by Paul Alan Levy After Dwayne Cooney left his car overnight for service at Jim Butler Chevrolet in Fenton, Missouri, and was told his car had required 5-1/2 hours work, he paid the bill in full. But he was curious about what had taken to long to fix, so he checked the dash camera which, […]
Those are topics of continuing concern to consumer advocates and the title of this paper by Sean Brian. Here is the abstract: In the last few years, store gift certificates have matured into a diverse set of products including "open loop" prepaid cards capable of providing services traditionally reserved to banks. At the same time, […]
The question before the Court in Lawson v. FMR LLC was whether the whistleblower protection of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 applies only to employees of public corporations or also to the employees of contractors with those corporations. Contractors' employees are included, ruled the Supreme Court today, in a 6-3 decision that did not split along […]
Read this article by Kate Cox.
March 2-8 is National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW). NCPW is a campaign of a group of non-profit organizations (including AARP and Consumers Union) and federal and state government entities (including the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), aimed at helping consumer to “take advantage of their consumer rights and make better-informed decisions.” […]
The National Center for Access to Justice has released the "Access to Justice Index," an online resource presenting data on the "performance of state-based justice systems in assuring access to justice." Going state by state, the index looks at four elements of state-based justice systems: • the number of civil legal aid attorneys serving the […]