Category Archives: Uncategorized

Steven Pearlstein opinion piece: The judicial jihad against the regulatory state

That's Steven Pearlstein's characterization of the judiciary's attitude toward federal health and safety regulation in a column published today. Here's an excerpt discussing what Pearlstein views as a recent example: Their latest salvo came just before Labor Day, when a divided three-judge panel threw out rules requiring states to control the air pollution that wafts […]

Netflix Agrees to Closed Captioning on Its Streaming Content as a Result of ADA Lawsuit

As this article by Sheri Qualters explains, "Netflix Inc. has agreed to put closed captions on 100 percent of its streaming content within two years to settle a lawsuit filed by the National Association of the Deaf last year" under the Americans With Disabilities Act. This settlement could encourage other on-line video providers to follow […]

Did the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act Help Consumers?

The purpose of the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) of 1978 was to get federal and state governments out of the business of regulating the economic aspects of the commercial passenger airline industry. (The FAA still regulates the safety of air travel.) Mark Perry, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has found that, despite a […]

FTC Settles Cases About Improper Use of Consumer Information

The Federal Trade Commission announced this morning that it has settled two cases concerning improper use of consumer credit information. The first settlement resolves FTC allegations that the consumer reporting company Equifax Information Services violated the FTC Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act by selling lists of consumers who were late on their mortgage […]

More on the eBay Arbitration Opt-Out Campaign

Last Friday, we told you about eBay's anti-class-action arbitration policy and the campaign urging consumers to opt out of eBay's arbitration clause, which seeks to bar consumers' access to the courts. The campaign has been getting a lot of notice from on-line consumer advocacy sites, such as eCOMMERCEBYTES, Tech Crunch, and The Consumerist. Join the […]

Soda Vending Machines To Display Calorie Information

As explained in this Huff-Po story . . . As criticism over sugary sodas intensifies, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are rolling out new vending machines that will put calorie counts right at your fingertips.The move comes ahead of a new [federal] regulation that would require restaurant chains and vending machines to post calorie information […]

Federal Court Rejects Honda’s Effort to Force Auto Safety Class Action Into Arbitration

Businesses these days will go to great lengths to force their customers into arbitration and deny them access to the civil justice system. Sometimes that extends to trying to enforce an arbitration agreement that the customer is not a party to; other times, that extends to trying to enforce an arbitration agreement that the company […]