In this decision issued on September 28, 2012, U.S. district judge Kathryn Vratil gave preliminary approval to most aspects of a complex class-action settlement but rejected a settlement provision that would have granted leftover settlement funds to unnamed governments or charities. By refusing to name the potential cy pres recipients, the court held, there was no […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
This article by Jerry Hirsch tell us that, with a boost from new California legislation, self-driving cars are not terribly far away. The hope is that the cars will make driving easier and promote consumer safety: Having a hard time parallel parking? Press a button on a touch screen and let the car park itself. […]
The consumer advocacy community often favors regulations aimed at protecting consumer and worker health and safety and establishing employment rights. Business interests–and the politicians that support those interests–are constantly telling us that regulations–all regulations–are "job killers." But where's the evidence? A conference held yesterday and today at Penn Law School addresses the question of the […]
This article by Marc Lifsher explains: By more than a 2-to-1 margin, California voters favor an initiative to require food manufacturers and retailers to label fresh produce and processed foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients. With less than six weeks until election day, Proposition 37 is supported by 61% of registered voters and opposed by […]
FHFA, the bizarre federal agency running our nationalized mortgage funders Fannie and Freddie, announced a proposal last week that would surcharge mortgages in five states – New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois and Connecticut, with a 30 basis point (0.3%) fee. The ostensible reason? It claims Fannie and Freddie lose money in those states due […]
On Monday, Allison posted about the 9th Circuit's grant of rehearing en banc in Kilgore v. Key Bank. The question is whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a California-law rule that says that claims for a so-called "public injunction" cannot be forced into arbitration (even if an arbitration agreement's terms puts those claims there). The […]
Today's Blog of the Legal Times has this interesting post about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's use of investigatory demands on potential enforcement targets in the financial services industry.
As explained in this LA Times story, "[m]ore than 3.5 million Discover credit card customers will share $200 million in refunds in the wake of a federal investigation [by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FDIC] that determined the bank tricked people into signing up for payment protection plans and other add-on services." The […]
In July, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Kilgore v. Key Bank that, in light of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, California law holding that claims for public injunctive relief are not subject to mandatory arbitration is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. The court held that the California rule does not survive Concepcion […]