Regular readers of the blog will know that the Biden CFPB took the position that discrimination is unfair within the meaning of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the CFPB’s UDAAP statute. After the Chamber of Commerce sued to block that interpretation and won before a Trump-nominated judge, the CFPB appealed. But before the appeal could be […]
Category Archives: Unfair & Deceptive Acts & Practices (UDAP), including Discrimination
Just before the holidays, NY Governor Kathy Hochul signed the FAIR Business Practices Act, which expanded the protections for New York consumers under the state’s General Business Law–a move recommended by the pre-Vought CFPB. Among other things, the statute expands the enforcement powers of the state attorney general, both in terms of the entities and […]
The Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Milam v. Selene Finance today, an FDCPA case where the Court punted on the merits but addressed standing in a manner that may be notable for practitioners. Ramona Milam sued Selene Finance, the servicer of her home mortgage, after Selene sent her a letter threatening acceleration and foreclosure if […]
After New York City enacted minimum pay rate laws for food delivery workers, DoorDash and Uber Eats changed the way tipping options appeared on its app — making it so tipping was not available until after a customer checks out. DoorDash claimed this would somehow “balance the impact” of new fees that it was charging […]
Just after Thanksgiving last week, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion reversing a district court’s certification of a class in one of several actions brought by a consumer against Folgers and consolidated by the JPML. In the action on appeal, the consumer had alleged that representations on coffee containers featured misrepresentations about the number of […]
The past week has seen the announcement of two proposals to weaken mechanisms for identifying and combatting discriminatory lending practices. Last week, the CFPB issued a proposal to amend Regulation B under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which would eliminate disparate impact claims, significantly narrow the prohibition on statements that would discourage applicants or potential […]
As previously discussed on this blog, in January 2025, the Fifth Circuit upheld the Department of Transportation’s authority to promulgate rules under 49 U.S.C. s. 41712, which authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to “order…air carrier[s]” to stop unfair or deceptive practices, or unfair methods of competition in air transportation. The Fifth Circuit granted a petition […]
Meirav Furth of Tel-Aviv University School of Law and NYU Law has written Discrimination in Contractual Performance : Theory, Evidence, and Preliminary Policy Prescriptions. Here’s the abstract This Article examines the often-overlooked practice of “selective performance” of standard form consumer contracts-where sellers permit employees to exercise discretion by waiving or modifying contractual terms to maintain customer […]
In 2024, the Department of Transportation issued a rule requiring airlines to disclose certain ancillary fees upfront when potential customers search for itineraries. Afraid that such transparency might cut into profits, the airline industry petitioned for review in the Fifth Circuit, which granted a stay pending appeal. In January 2025, a panel of the Fifth Circuit […]
Last week, I posted about a Western District of Washington decision granting partial summary judgment to the FTC on claims against Amazon relating to the enrollment flow for Amazon Prime subscriptions. A trial began earlier this week on the remaining claims, but, today, the FTC announced a $2.5 billion settlement, including $1.5 billion to be […]