Category Archives: Uncategorized

Trump looks to gut student-loan forgiveness programs

I was surprised to see this headline given Trump's reverence for education and that he once headed a university himself. But it appears to be true. In Trump looks to kill student loan forgiveness program, Annie Nova explains that  As student debt continues to climb, President Donald Trump on Monday released a budget for 2021 […]

D.C. Circuit holds that members of Congress lack standing to sue over Trump’s (alleged) Emoluments Clause violations

The 12-page decision, by a per curiam panel composed of Judges Henderson, Tatel, and Griffith, is here. The decision includes this paragraph: The Members [of Congress] can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the President himself, all of […]

Teaching Consumer Law Rescheduled

It is with deep regret and disappointment we must inform you that due to events beyond our control, the May 29-30, 2020 Teaching Consumer Law Conference has been cancelled. It has been rescheduled for May 21-22, 2021. We strongly believe that the Conference provides a unique experience for those teaching or interested in teaching consumer […]

Are chain pharmacies repeating the errors that caused Wells Fargo to open unauthorized bank accounts?

by Jeff Sovern A recent NY Times article, Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk, reminded me of how the Wells Fargo quotas drove Wells employees to open unauthorized accounts.  There's a lot in the article, but here are two excerpts: [CVS] Staff members were supposed to persuade 65 percent of patients picking […]

Consumer Reports article on expansion of forced arbitration into consumer products

Arbitration clauses, ubiquitous in financial and telecom services, are increasingly used by sellers of consumer products such as dishwashers and televisions. To get a sense of how often, Consumer Reports looked at the top-selling brands in the 10 product categories receiving the most traffic on its website, plus two types of products designed for safety: […]

The effect of ALL CAPS in consumer contracts

Take a look at All-Caps by law profs Yonathan Arbel and Andrew Toler. Here is the abstract: A hallmark of consumer contracts is long blocks of capitalized text. Courts and legislators believe that such “all-caps” clauses improve the quality of consumer consent and thus they will often require the capitalization of certain key terms in […]

How Facebook stalks you — even when you’re not using Facebook

A column in the Washington Post today explains Facebook's new "Off-Facebook Activity" tool and suggests privacy settings you can change. Ever suspect the Facebook app is listening to you? What we now know is even creepier. Facebook is giving us a new way to glimpse just how much it knows about us: On Tuesday, the […]

Seventh Circuit rules on a court’s authority to issue notice to members of an FLSA collective action subject to contested arbitration agreements

Take a look at the Seventh Circuit's January 24 decision in Bigger v. Facebook, Inc., No. 19-1944. The Seventh Circuit succinctly sets out the dispute and its holding: This case presents the question whether a court may authorize notice to individuals [who are putative members of a Fair Labor Standards Act "collective" action and] who […]

Briefing on the constitutionality of the CFPB

The briefing is almost complete in Seila Law. v. Consumer Financial Protection Agency. In that case, the Supreme Court will consider whether the structure of the CFPB, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010, violates the separation of powers because the agency has a single direct who is removable by […]