That is the name of this article by Kate Cox over at the Consumerist. Among the items Cox discusses is the Student Loan Borrowers' Bill of Rights and the Arbitration Fairness Act, which generally would negate pre-dispute agreements that require arbitration of employment, consumer, civil rights, or antitrust disputes. Cox notes that the Act now […]
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As part of what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau terms its "continu[ing] efforts to make mortgages safer and with fewer surprises along the way," the agency today issued a request for information from the public about how to improve the mortgage closing process. Here's the agency's summary: This notice requests information from the public about […]
In September, a group of auto safety advocates and parents represented by Public Citizen sued the Department of Transportation over its failure to issue a congressionally-mandated regulation to address the problem of backover crashes, that is, collisions in which a vehicle moving backwards strikes a person (or object) behind the vehicle. Each year on average, […]
by Paul Alan Levy A decision yesterday by a panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals shows that First Amendment protections, and particularly protection for online anonymity, is alive and well in Michigan. Ruling in Ghanam v. Doe, the Court held that when discovery is sought to identify anonymous defendants so that they can be […]
by Paul Alan Levy In the wake of recent coverage of an attempt by the online trinket company Kleargear.com to ruin the credit of a customer whose wife complained about Kleargear’s failure to send an order of Christmas gifts, in violation of a non-disparagement clause inserted into later versions of the online sales contract, […]
As we've explained in a series of posts, in Carrera v. Bayer, the Third Circuit reversed a grant of class certification on the ground that the class wasn't "ascertainable." Among other things, the panel said that the class of purchasers of an over-the-counter weight-loss product had not shown that it would be able to screen out […]
Sometimes a good bit, according to this annual CFPB report issued recently. Chris Morran over at the Consumerist has this analysis of the report, and he lists the 10 biggest payouts to colleges and alumni associations in 2012: 1. Penn State Alumni Association: $2,742,743 from FIA Card Services, N.A. 2. Alumni Association of the University […]
We've been covering the serious health hazards associated with dietary supplements (for instance, here, here, and here). We've noted that although dietary supplements have drug-like effects and supplement makers market their products by trumpeting those effects, the products are not regulated like drugs by the FDA. In fact, unlike drugs, they are marketed without governmental pre-approval. […]
The CFPB, 49 states, and the District of Columbia have entered into an agreement with Ocwen Financial Corp. the largest nonbank mortgage servicer in the country, that requires Ocwen to provide more than $2 billion in relief to homeowners. The relief will be in the form of principal reduction and refunds to customers whose homes […]
by Paul Alan Levy Whatever happens as a result of Judge Leon's decision this week and whatever comes of today's recommendations from the intelligence review panel, we cannot forget who it was who helped our country get to the stage of having this debate, not to speak of the personal price he has had to […]