As the country turns to clean and efficient energy alternatives, federal consumer agencies have come together to warn consumers about fraud and misconduct in the residential solar panel market. The U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission released consumer advisories advising the public on how to spot […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Earlier this year, the Department of Labor issued a rule that broadened the scope of circumstances when investment advisors were deemed to be acting in fiduciary roles with respect to workers’ retirement investments, and thus required to provide non-conflicted, honest, and loyal advice in the investor’s best interest. As they did with an Obama-era rule, […]
A federal court this month issued an order, in a case filed by the Federal Trade Commission, to temporarily stop a predatory student loan relief scam that targeted Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking borrowers. According to the FTC’s complaint against USA Student Debt Relief/Start Connecting SAS, operating out of Florida and Cali, Colombia, these entities falsely represented […]
Washington, D.C. or Texas. Which jurisdiction will ultimately hear the merits of an industry lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule to limit credit card late fees? For the second time since the industry lawsuit against the CFPB was filed in March, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals paused a U.S. District Court for […]
Claire Johnson Raba of Illinois-Chicago and California-Irvine and Dalié Jiménez of California- Irvine and Harvard’s Center on the Legal Profession have written Pay to Plead: Finding Unfairness and Abusive Practices in California Debt Collection Cases. Here’s the abstract: In this Article, we report on one of the largest studies of debt collection lawsuits ever attempted. We […]
I often get emails from reporters seeking comment on a consumer law matter. When I can, I answer their questions, but frequently they want someone who knows about an aspect of consumer law I don’t know that much about. In such cases, I refer them to someone else when I know of a better choice […]
After several delays, the House today passed a five-year reauthorization bill for the FAA, which had previously passed the Senate. The bipartisan bill includes a number of consumer protection provisions, including provisions related to: refunds for cancellations and significant delays seating for travel with children and passengers with disabilities access to customer service agents The […]
On Wednesday, Colorado lawmakers passed a sweeping artificial intelligence regulation bill. The legislation seeks to protect consumers from algorithmic discrimination when AI is used to make life-altering decisions, such as about a person’s employment, education or health care. It also included consumer rights provisions such as the right to know when AI is being used […]
It’s been years since I have had to litigate the issue of whether the inclusion of a trademark in the domain name for a web site about the trademark holder has Lanham Act ramifications. I rather thought that issue was settled by such cases as Lamparello and Bosley. The final nail in the coffin was […]
Today, the Department of Transportation published on its website a final rule regarding airline refunds, requiring (1) automatic (cash) refunds when flights are cancelled or significantly changed and customers do not accept alternatives offered, (2) refunds of checked bag fees for significantly delayed bags, (3) refunds for ancillary services fees (seating, etc.) that are paid […]