Former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray has an op-ed in the Washington Post today, expressing concerns about the agency's current path: The CFPB was designed to serve as a tough and independent watchdog for consumers. Yet Trump and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, the bureau’s putative acting head, have bullied […]
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The decision is Tatis v. Allied Interstate. Applying the "least sophisticated consumer" standard and following decisions of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh circuits, the court summarizes its decision this way: This appeal arises under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act …. The question presented is whether a collection letter sent to collect a time-barred debt that […]
The Associated Press reports that Wells Fargo has made missteps in its efforts to make amends to customers who were forced to buy unneeded auto insurance. A spokeswoman for the bank said that 38,000 customers received a letter they did not need and that contained no refund. She said the error was due to a […]
The Alabama legislature is considering a bill that would give borrowers who take out payday loans additional time to pay them back. The bill reportedly has bipartisan support in the Alabama Legislature. Currently, payday lenders in Alabama can require that loans be paid back anywhere from 10 days to 31 days. The bill would set […]
Law prof Cynthia Estlund has written on that topic in The Black Hole of Mandatory Arbitration. Here's the abstract: What is the impact of mandatory arbitration agreements (MAAs) in employment? It is now several decades since the Supreme Court gave a green light to employers’ imposition of broad MAAs that foreclose litigation over nearly all federal […]
The Conference is for anyone teaching or interested in teaching consumer Law. More than thirty professors and attorneys will be presenting. For more information or to register, click here.
by Paul Alan Levy The current controversy stirred by broad popular revulsion over the Superbowl ad run by Dodge Ram, which included a voice-over excerpted from a speech by Martin Luther King Jr., thus using it to sell a truck, ignores a dirty little secret all-to-well known among those of us who worry about the […]
In this article, Reuters reporter Patrick Rucker explains that "Mick Mulvaney, [Trump's interim] head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers, according to people familiar with the matter."
The Washington Post reports: "The Trump administration has stripped enforcement powers away from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office that specializes in pursuing cases against financial firms accused of breaking discrimination laws, according to two people familiar with the matter and emails reviewed by The Washington Post." The full article is here.
by Paul Alan Levy In the past few days there have been a couple of significant developments in the area of ”fake litigation” directed at consumer commentary – the use of fraudulent litigation techniques to obtain judicial relief against consumer criticisms of businesses without giving fair notice to the critic, and often using methods calculated […]