by Brian Wolfman As we've explained in a series of recent 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 […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
by Jeff Sovern House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling is still blaming regulation for the Great Recession. He recently pened an op-ed for the American Banker, Regulation – Not Lack Thereof – Led U.S. into Financial Crisis. In it, he repeats the right wing's frequently-debunked claim that the Community Reinvestment Act caused lenders to make the loans that […]
In a recent analysis of complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about financial services, the consulting firm Deloitte found that mortgage-related issues are the basis for most of the 94,000 complaints posted so far and that customer misunderstanding is often the problem. The Washington Post has a short write-up of the findings and […]
by Paul Alan Levy A fun exercise by Jonathan Band estimates the value of Wikipedia at tens of billions of dollars, with this punchline: "Wikipedia demonstrates that highly valuable content can be created by non-professionals [without the incentives provided] by the copyright system."
As Allison explained, the Third Circuit's recent Carrera decision puts consumer class actions in jeopardy, and so the plaintiff has sought hearing en banc. Public Citizen has now moved, with the parties' consent, to file this amicus brief.
As the Blog of the Legal Times explains: Continuing its crackdown on companies that provide debt settlement services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today announced that a payment processing company will pay $1.376 million to settle allegations that it collected illegal up-front fees from consumers. The CFPB said Tacoma, Wash.-based Meracord LLC helped debt-relief service […]
by Paul Alan Levy A Tampa-area company called “Federal Verification Co.,” which operates under “dozens of names,” according to the author of this exposé on a local television station, has filed a defamation lawsuit against its online critics, and is using vague allegations about defamation on a number of sites as an excuse for a […]
by Jeff Sovern Which happens first: a win by the NY Giants or Congress resolves the budget impasse? Put your responses in the comments (Disclosure: though I am in New York, I am not a Giants fan).
Great editorial in the Times today calling on the Obama Administration to stop obstructing the long-delayed rule to prevent backover injuries, i.e. injuries from cars backing into people the drivers can't see — injuries that disproportionately befall young children. Representing a coalition of safety advocates and parents, we here at Public Citizen filed suit last […]
When the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare's individual mandate last year in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, it was not a total victory for reform: because the Court held that the Act's Medicaid expansion imposed too coercive a spending condition on states, states were left with a choice whether or not to accept federal […]