Law prof Mary J. Davis has written Time For a Fresh Look at Strict Liability for Pharmaceuticals. Here's the abstract: Over the ensuing 50 years from the promulgation of § 402A, products liability in general has seen a retrenchment from strict liability. The Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability openly adopted negligence principles for design […]
In a 2-1 decision in DL v. District of Columbia, No. 18-7004 (May 21, 2019), authored by Judge David Tatel, the D.C. Circuit has rejected the federal and D.C. governments' efforts to cut the hourly rates payable for a lawyer's legal work under federal fee-shifting statutes. (Senior Judge David Sentelle dissented.) Here is Judge Tatel's […]
by Jeff Sovern It may seem bizarre, but it appears that recommendations that contain information that goes beyond the transactions or experiences of the person writing the letter are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For example, if a law professor writes a letter that points out that a student has job experience in […]
by Jeff Sovern On Saturday, I blogged about the College Board's adversity score. Today, in response to my inquiry, I received an email from the College Board which contained the following: We have received questions about whether students and schools can see the content of the Dashboard, and we’re looking into how we might make […]
State attorneys general have updated their letter opposing the draft Restatement of the Law of Consumer Contracts. The letter has now been signed by twenty-four AGs. Read the letter here. For our earlier post, on the AG letter, go here.
The Supreme Court issued its decision today in Merck Sharp & Doehm v. Albrecht. Justice Breyer wrote the controlling opinion, representing the views of six Justices. Justice Alito wrote an opinion concurring in the judgment, representing the views of three justices. Justice Breyer described the issues this way: We stated in Wyeth v. Levine that state […]
Yesterday, former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray wrote to the Director of the American Law Institute Richard Revesz opposing the controversial draft Restatement of the Law of Consumer Contracts. The Restatement will be voted on tomorrow by the ALI's membership. Here are excerpts from Cordray's letter: I write to express deep […]
by Jeff Sovern The Wall Street Journal has reported that the College Board, providers of the SAT tests, will give colleges an adversity score for each applicant who takes the SAT to aid college in admissions decisions. As the Journal explains: This new number, called an adversity score by college admissions officers, is calculated using […]
Public Citizen, along with the Center for Responsible Lending and several other consumer-advocacy groups, submitted a lengthy comment objecting to the CFPB's proposal to rescind many aspects of the agency's own payday lending rule, issued in 2017 to protect consumers from harmful payday lending practices. The comment is here. If you are not up for […]
An investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times found that "[y]ou could be a great driver, but still have to pay more [for car insurance] because of reasons unrelated to driving," such as sex, where you live, and whether you rent or own your home. Read this Sun-Times article by Stephanie Zimmerman for more details.