by Brian Wolfman As you may have read, the FDA is beginning to look into possible regulation of caffeine when used as an additive to foods and drinks, including foods and drinks marketed to kids. How about some caffeine with your marshmellows or nuts? Yes, indeed, these foods sometimes have caffeine thrown in. Read this interview […]
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Sunday's New York Times has a nice article discussing a recent study prepared by Lee Epstein, who teaches law and political science at the University of Southern California; William M. Landes, an economist at the University of Chicago; and Judge Richard A. Posner, of the federal appeals court in Chicago, who teaches law at the University […]
Many of our readers are interested in using and benefitting from federal and state freedom of information laws. With that in mind, you may want to read the Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Coleman v. DEA, which has a buch of good things to say about two federal FOIA topics: exhaustion of administrative remedies and […]
Today Public Citizen filed objections to the proposed class action settlement in Fraley v. Facebook, which concerns Facebook's practice of using the images of their millions of users, without their knowledge or consent, to sell advertising. Specifically, through Facebook's "Sponsored Stories" program, whenever a user clicks the “Like” button, Facebook may use that interaction to […]
Law professor Howard Erichson says no in his new article "The Problem of Settlement Class Actions." Here is the abstract: This article argues that class actions should never be certified solely for purposes of settlement. Contrary to the widespread “settlement class action” practice that has emerged in recent decades, contrary to current case law permitting […]
Senator Franken today sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging it to "promptly exercise its authority under Section 921 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to prohibit the use of mandatory arbitration provisions in customer service agreements." His letter and press release are posted here.
We posted yesterday on the Supreme Court's decision upholding Virginia's FOIA provision that allows Virginia government agencies to withhold from non-Virginians the same public records it provides to Virginians. The press is weighing in on the decision, including this piece by Cyrus Farivar that argues that "[t]he unanimous decision is a significant setback to journalists […]
According to this article in today's Wall Street Journal, several states are considering whether to limit the business of lending money to plaintiffs to fund litigation and collecting if the plaintiffs' suits are successful. “At the heart of many of the bills are proposals to subject the lawsuit-funding industry to existing state laws that regulate […]
This morning the Supreme Court decided McBurney v. Young, which presented the question whether under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV and the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution a state may limit the right of access to the state's public records to its own citizens. The Court held unanimously that […]